Stay
by tikvarn
Summary: What if Andy didn't leave after the lights came back on?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This takes place at the end of "Hot and Bothered". Please let me know what you think! _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

"I should just turn a few things off," Sam said, gently disentangling himself from Andy, climbing off the bed. He flipped the light in the bedroom off, leaving Andy alone in the candlelit room.

She sighed, running her hands over her face and taking deep breaths to calm herself. What was she doing? The phone rang, distracting her from her thoughts. Callaghan. She couldn't deal with that right now, not here. She quickly ignored the call.

Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, Andy quickly glanced around the room. She spotted her green top and reached over for it.

Sam came back into the room to see Andy pulling her shirt back over her head. He paused, then gave her a slight, sad smile. She turned away from him, couldn't bear to look at the hurt in his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess everything goes back to normal," he said, frowning. With a slight nod of resignation he left Andy alone, again.

Andy, still seated on the edge of the bed, looked forward. She could see his dresser in front of her but soon the crisp lines began to blur and she could feel her eyes filling with tears. This wasn't what she had planned, if you could call it a plan. She came over wanting him to make it better… wanting him to make her feel better, but if at all possible she felt even worse.

Sam was pulling a beer out of his refrigerator when he heard her crying softly. "Oh, hell," he cursed softly. Replacing the beer, he made his way back to his bedroom and observed her quietly for a moment from the door before making his presence known.

"Andy," he began, softly, kneeling in front of her. She had her head in her hands, elbows resting on her knees. Sam gently pulled her hands away from her face, forcing her to look at him.

She wiped furiously at her eyes, "I'm sorry," she said, hiccupping, "I'm sorry." She hated crying in front of him, but the tears kept flowing. Her heart physically ached.

Sam moved to sit on the bed next to her, pulling her against his chest. "It's okay, Andy," he tried to soothe her, "it's okay."

Feeling his arms around her, gently holding her, knowing he forgave her for earlier, it was too much. Andy tried to stop the tears from coming, but they came anyway. She sobbed against him, she could feel her tears wetting his still bare chest but he didn't seem to mind. He just stroked her hair, whispering words into her ear that she couldn't understand.

Eventually she was able to pull it together. "I killed someone today," she choked out, not moving from his embrace. "I took someone's life."

"I know." Sam said, not offering anything else. He didn't try to reason with her, to tell her she did what she had to do, that he would have done the same thing. She already knew all that. He just kept her pulled close against him. With one arm tightly wrapped around her, he reached with the other to grab a tissue from his bedside table, "Here you go."

Andy accepted it with a quiet "Thanks," before dabbing her eyes. She could feel her nose running so she pulled away from him and turned, trying to blow her nose as quietly as possible. Turning back to him she smiled slightly, "Sorry."

Sam just grinned, "Its okay." He picked up the small wastebasket next to his bed and Andy threw the tissue away. They sat quietly for a few moments, their shoulders touching.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Andy said. "I don't know what…"

Sam cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Its okay."

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks." Looking over at him she asked hesitantly, "Would if be okay if I stayed here tonight?"

Sam was caught off guard, but tried to not show it. "Sure," he said, stumbling slightly over his words, "Yeah, that's fine."

"Its just," She tried to explain, "I went home and tried to sleep and every time I closed my eyes…" she shook her head, unable to continue lest she start crying again.

"You see him," Sam finished for her.

She nodded. "I just keep replaying it over and over in my head."

"I understand," Sam said, standing up. "You're going to have to stop doing that at some point."

Andy looked up at him. "Is this from personal experience?" She realized she had never asked him that question before.

Sam shrugged, "It's not something I like to talk about, but its happened a couple a times."

"A couple?" Andy asked.

Sam looked at her before turning around. "Four." He clarified, feeling the need to clear his throat afterwards. He yanked open one of the drawers to the dresser, "Do you need something to sleep in?"

Andy didn't answer him right away, trying to absorb the information she had just heard. "Four?" She asked.

Sam turned to face her again, "Yeah." Andy watched as his jaw clenched, the light from the candle reflecting off of the muscles of his torso. He folded his arms in front of him and she couldn't help but notice the way his biceps jumped into place.

She swallowed. "Does it get any easier," she asked, not knowing she wanted the answer to be.

"Andy," Sam answered, moving to sit beside her again, "I can't answer that for you. For me, it never gets easier but its part of the job. "

She nodded, the look in her eyes encouraging him to go on, pleading with him to give her something to hang on to.

"That guy the you killed today," Andy flinched at his words, "he hurt a lot of innocent young girls. Killed them. If you hadn't of done what you did today, he would have hurt someone else. He might have killed you."

Andy nodded at his words. Logically, she knew all of it.

Sam put a hand on the back of her neck, massaging gently. "You just have to keep telling yourself that until you believe it."

Andy hung her head lower subconsciously, giving him more access to the tight muscles in her neck, enjoying the feeling of his strong hands on her. She moaned quietly as he worked a particularly tight spot.

Hearing Andy moan was doing things to Sam that he wasn't proud of, especially under the circumstances. He shifted on the bed but didn't remove his hands.

Andy noticed the movement and glanced over at him. She observed him unnoticed for a moment until Sam made eye contact. She licked her lips self-consciously. Sam couldn't help but notice, remembering what her lips felt like against his not long ago.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Andy put a finger to his lips. Sam used the hand on her neck to pull her closer to him, his eyes on her lips. She leaned her forehead against his, barely touching. "How about those pajamas?" Andy asked after a tense moment.

Sam blinked and then pulled away, "Yeah, of course," he said, standing. "I don't have any girl clothes," he said, chuckling uncomfortably.

Andy laughed. "I didn't expect you too."

Sam pulled a t-shirt and a pair of clean boxers out. "Here you go," he said, handing them to her. He motioned to bathroom, "you can change in there. There's probably a new toothbrush under the sink if you need it."

She nodded, grabbing the clothes from him and slipping into the bathroom.

Not sure of what to do, Sam quickly changed into a pair of pajama pants he pulled from the very back of a drawer and tried to remember the last time he had actually worn pajama pants. He tried to do anything but think of his rookie, who was currently undressing in the bathroom. The bathroom that was attached to his bedroom. That held his bed.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that, about her, that way. He crossed the room to his closet and opened the door.

"You're very neat." Andy observed from across the room. He hadn't heard her come back in. Quickly pulling a set of sheets from the top shelf, Sam turned to face her.

She stood before him in a soft black t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts she had rolled at the waist to keep up. Sam's eyes travelled down her legs. He realized he'd never actually seen her legs before. They were beautiful, long and tan. Andy's slight cough brought his eyes back up to hers.

"What?" He asked, forgetting what she had said earlier.

"Neat," she pointed to his closet, which held his shirts carefully arranged and his pants folded precisely over the hangers. His shoes were lined up along the floor in defined rows. "You're very neat. I wouldn't have expected that."

Sam just shrugged his shoulders. He liked things arranged, in order.

Andy noticed the sheets he held in his hand. "What are those for?"

"Um," Sam coughed, "well, you can have the bed. I'm just going to go to the living room."

"What?" Andy asked, slightly panicked.

Sam grinned, "It's clean, I promise. I changed the sheets yesterday," He assured her, gesturing towards the bed.

"No, no," Andy said, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her shirt. His shirt. "Its not that."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Well then," he asked, "What is it?"

Andy looked at him and then down to the floor. "I just…"

"What is it McNally?"

All night she had been "Andy" and now he was calling her by her last name. "I just thought you would stay with me," she blurted out, a light temper to her words. "That's all," she said, quietly.

Sam was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that. "Okay."

Andy smiled softly at him. "I know its silly I just," she bit her bottom lip, "I just don't want to be alone."

Sam nodded, replacing the sheets. "That's fine. I'll stay here. I thought you'd want me in the other room."

Shaking her head slightly, Andy spoke softly. "No."

The two just looked at each other for moment, neither speaking, both trying to read the other.

"Okay," Sam said, clapping his hands together, breaking the moment. "I'm going to brush my teeth." He gestured to the bed, smiling. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back."

Andy laughed uncomfortably. "Okay." She moved over to the bed and began to pull the sheets back. "Hey Sam," she called.

He peaked his head out of the bathroom, "Yeah?"

"Which side of the bed do you sleep on?"

He grinned, "Closest to the door."

"In case someone breaks in?" She asked knowingly.

"Yep." He ducked back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Andy settled into the bed, pulling the sheets up under her arms. She turned onto her side, facing the windows. The exhaustion of the day was finally catching up to her. She watched the patterns that headlights made across the walls in his room, lulled by the quiet sounds of the city filtering in.

In the bathroom, Sam splashed water up on his face. What are you doing? He asked himself. The night had not gone anything like he had expected and continued to change course at every turn. Sam saw Andy's clothes folded neatly in the corner of the bathroom had to chuckle. No, that was definitely not was he was expecting.

Sam brushed his teeth and took time to floss. Looking in the mirror one last time, Sam opened the door of the bathroom and stepped out, taking in the site before him. Andy, in his bed, in his clothes, sheets wrapped tightly around her body. She was turned on her side, her breathing soft and regular. She was asleep.

He took a moment to blow the candles in the room out before climbing into the bed beside her. Sam was careful not to disturb her but once he was settled she was the one that slide closer to him.

Thinking that she was awake, Sam leaned over her body to look at her face. She was still sleeping, he realized. She was probably just seeking out a warm body, Sam told himself as he settled back against the pillows. Andy pressed her body against his side. It was innocent, Sam told himself again. She didn't know what she was doing.

"Sam," Andy said hoarsely, startling him.

"Yeah?"

"Could you…" she reached behind her to grab his arm and pulled it around her. "Could you just hold me, please?"

Sam swallowed nervously, but pulled her tightly against him. "Of course."

"Goodnight, Sam," Andy said, sleep overtaking her once again.

"Goodnight Andy," Sam whispered.

Later that night Sam was woken up by Andy. She was thrashing about in her sleep, practically screaming, "No, no, no, no…"

Sam tried to wake her up gently, grimacing as she landed a particularly hard blow to his side. "Andy," he held her arms to her side, "Andy wake up."

She did, breathing heavily, unaware of where she was. "Sam?" She asked, cautiously.

"I'm here Andy, I'm right here." He pulled her securely against him, rubbing a hand up and down her back. "You're safe Andy, you're safe, I promise," he tried to calm her.

She held herself tightly against him, her hands grasping at his back, her legs tangled with his. "I'm sorry," She cried softly, "I'm so sorry."

"Shh, its okay," he whispered to her, smoothing her hair away from her face. "It was just a dream, go back to sleep."

Andy clung to him, her cries weakening as she fell back asleep.

The alarm clock woke her up. She turned to see Sam already sitting up in the bed, looking down at her.

"Good morning," he said, yawning.

Andy propped herself up on her elbows, "Good morning."

Sam rubbed a hand over his face, aware that the situation was awkward but too tired from the restless night to care. "How do you take your coffee?" He asked, climbing out of the bed.

"Cream, no sugar," She answered.

"I'll be right back," he said, leaving the room.

Andy fell back onto the bed, groaning. She was about to sit up and gather her things when Sam returned with her coffee.

"Here," he said, handing it to her as she sat up. "Listen, I have to go to work."

"Okay," Andy said, looking down into her mug. She wasn't going in that day or the next few days. "I don't," she tried to joke, "I guess if you want some vacation time you have to shoot someone."

They both laughed, uncomfortable.

Andy pointed at his side, "What is that?"

Sam looked down to what she was pointing at. A nasty bruise had formed on his side, no doubt from where she had hit him that night.

"Its nothing," Sam said, turning away from her to pull some clothes from his closet. "I'm just going to hop in the shower. There's food in the kitchen," he pointed in that direction, "you're more than welcome to help yourself."

"Thanks, Sam." She paused, and then gestured towards herself and the bed, "For everything."

Sam nodded. "You're welcome," he said, sincerely. They stared at each other, both trying to decide if they should say something.

Sam smiled at her. "I'm going to take that shower," he said, ducking into the bathroom.

Andy sipped at her coffee slowly, trying to decide what to do. Her clothes were in the bathroom and she couldn't very well walk home in Sam's boxers.

Sam heard the bathroom door open and the soft pad of footsteps. "Andy?" he called out, only to hear the soft "click" of the door closing.

Andy, thankful the shower curtain was a dark blue and not see-through, quietly grabbed her clothes from the bathroom. She heard same call her name, but decided against answering. Changing quickly, she folded his boxers and t-shirt and left them on his bed.

When Sam got out of the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and called into the bedroom, "Andy?" Hearing no response, he opened the bathroom door to only to see the clothes she had worn the night before folded neatly on his bed.

"Andy," he called once more, making his way into the kitchen. He knew before he had even called for her. She was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow! Thanks for all of the reviews. Andy and Sam are a fun couple to write. I thought about just making "Stay" a oneshot, but I'm going to continue it. I tried to stay true to the episodes in the first chapter, and this chapter will follow after Honor Roll. Everything that took place in Honor Roll happened between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Andy McNally took a long swig from the bottle. She had escaped to the porch of the fishing cabin, wrapping herself in a wool sweater to ward off the chill. Sitting on the steps she looked out over the lake. "It was what it what." She kept repeating the line over and over in her head. "What an asshole," Andy said out loud. No one was around to hear her.

Luke was in the cabin, sound asleep. They'd made love when they'd gotten to the cabin. Andy had tried to focus on him, to be in the moment. When Luke kissed her, she tried not to think about how much more passionate Sam was, how he had literally surrounded her with himself. When Luke pushed her back against the bed she couldn't help but think of how Sam felt under her hands, the way the muscles in his back moved underneath them when he had picked her up and placed her on his bed.

She had tried to push all of the thoughts out of her head and respond to Luke, and only Luke, but she couldn't. With everything that had happened in the last two weeks- the shooting, turning a superior officer in, probably ruining his career… with Sam- she couldn't help but be distracted.

Sam's words from earlier that day came to her. "They tried," he had defended her to Best, "I was distracted." Distracted being a jackass, she thought to herself, chuckling. Clearly the alcohol was making her a mental powerhouse.

She didn't know if Luke could tell, if he cared. She was sure that on some level he did. He did care about her, she knew that. How much, she wasn't sure of. Wouldn't he have stayed with her after the shooting if he had cared about her? She tried to reason it out in her mind. He had work to do. He was a detective; he couldn't drop a case just because she needed him with her.

Andy couldn't decide if she was okay with that or not.

Even Sam had come to see her in the locker room, had come to make sure she was okay before he went home. He would have taken her home, too, if she had said she needed him too.

Going over to Sam's house that night had been a big mistake. Big mistake, big. Huge. Andy giggled at her own Pretty Woman reference before sobering as Sam's face came into her mind.

She could see the hurt in his eyes, the small smirk he had made. It was a defense mechanism, the smirk. She knew. She thought of how he had held her close during the night. How he had barely gotten any sleep but hadn't complained. He'd gotten her coffee instead.

Taking another swig from the bottle, she tried to reconcile the sweet Sam from the other night with the Sam from earlier that day. The jerk Sam, the Sam she had first met. Were they reverting back to that? Him being pissed at her all the time and acting out?

She had blown his cover the first time. She remembered the way he had taken out his aggression on his poor locker. This time he took his aggression out on Luke. The question was… what was he covering up this time? What was he so upset she had discovered?

Andy knew better, but in her state of tipsiness… okay, borderline drunkenness, she went inside the cabin to search for her phone. Trying her best to be quiet so as not to wake Luke, she found it amidst a pile of clothes on the floor, the small blue light it emitted a beacon to its location. Andy grabbed it and headed back outside to her refuge on the steps.

She should just call him, she thought. She should just call him and straighten all of this out right now.

You are drunk and upset, the still sober part of her brain tried to rationalize, you are only going to make this worse. Whatever "this" was. She knew that. She knew it was a bad idea, another one, but she flipped the phone open anyway.

"No Signal," the screen flashed.

Andy flipped the phone closed with a sigh. Well there goes that plan. Part of her was thankful that the technology had kept her from making what could have been another big mistake. The other part was still frustrated that she didn't know what was going on in Sam's head. That they were in the midst of this… this standoff, and she couldn't get in touch with him.

Despite their short chat at the Penny, there was still so much that needed to be said.

Andy sighed, frustrated and disappointed. She shivered from the cold and decided it was time to go back inside, back to the warm bed. Back to Luke.

She entered the cabin and made sure that the door was shut securely. Before climbing into bed, she walked over to the small kitchen and found a bottle of Advil. She took two, washing them down with a small glass of water.

Andy padded back over to the bed, again trying to be quiet and not disturb Luke. He had rolled to his side, as far on the other side of the bed as possible. She lifted the covers and slid in, the movement undetected. Unable to fall asleep, she settled for staring at the ceiling of the fishing cabin, counting the number of wooden planks instead of sheep.

Sam stared up at his ceiling. To say that the day had not been his finest was an understatement. It had started out well. He thought Andy would be surprised at a little pleased that he had remembered how she took her coffee. They wouldn't get to spend the day together because of the retraining, but he had hoped he could pull her aside for a moment to talk about what had happened.

Within two minutes of arriving at the station that was all shot to hell. Callaghan approaching him and telling him about the fishing cabin made him feel like his stomach was literally twisting itself inside out. Not only was the happy couple going to the fishing cabin; Callaghan needed his help to make it happen. He'd decided that the coffee peace offering was unnecessary; she seemed to have already made her choice.

He knew that she probably thought he just bad-mouthed Callaghan because he didn't want them together, but the truth was he really just couldn't stand the guy. It didn't matter whether Andy was involved with him or not, Sam did not like him. He wasn't lying when he'd said Callaghan picked a new rookie every year and the trip to the fishing cabin was not a new thing. Sam knew of at least two other girls he had taken up there.

But Andy had made her choice. She chose not to listen to him.

"It was what it was." He had thought that gem up on the spot. He wasn't trying to hurt her, just the opposite really. He thought it would… free her of any responsibility she might feel towards him. As if they didn't need to make a big deal about it, as if it hadn't meant anything to him either. Her reaction at hearing the words wasn't quite what he had expected.

Why was she so upset with him if she was going with Callaghan?

He had been a jerk. He could admit that, at least to the emptiness in his room. He hadn't been there for her when she needed him and he'd taken out aggression on her boyfriend.

Okay, that part he had enjoyed immensely. The aftermath when he'd been hauled into Best's office and asked just what, in fact, his problem was had not been fun. "I went overboard, Sir," he'd said. "I'm sorry."

Then there was the way Andy had looked at him when he'd finally let Callaghan up. She was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and… disgust? Like she was ashamed of him. Like she didn't even know him. Like she didn't want to know him.

The thought made him groan.

He knew he'd let his emotions take over the whole day. He'd let his feelings for Andy get in the way of his job and had ending up hurting both her and his reputation.

Their short talk at the Penny had done very little to help the way he was feeling. After she left he'd downed the drink he was working on and then took off, headed home. He didn't want to be around the other officers.

It was getting late, really late, and he had to work in the morning. Andy had to work too. He guessed that they must be getting up early and leaving from the cabin. Great, he thought to himself. He'd get to see first hand the post-coital bliss.

With that lovely thought in his head, Sam willed himself to go to sleep.

The next morning Andy was awoken by Luke calling her name and shaking her shoulders gently. "Andy, sweetie, you need to get up. We've got to get back to the city."

Groggy, Andy sat up in the bed. She didn't have a headache from the previous night, which she was grateful for. Luke was already up, pulling on his dress pants. "Is there any coffee?" She asked.

"Yeah," Luke pointed to the small coffeepot on the counter. "Help yourself." He fixed his tie and then came over to get Andy a quick kiss. "We've got to leave in about 20 minutes," he told her.

"Fine, fine," Andy said, getting up out of the bed. It wasn't the relaxing, lazy morning she had hoped for, but they both had to get back to work. Work, she thought, pouring her coffee. Sam. She pushed the thought out of her head.

"I'm just going to hop in the shower. I'll be fast." She assured Luke.

He looked at his watch, impatiently, "Okay, just hurry. We've got to beat traffic to get there in time."

Andy got ready quickly and was sitting in Luke's car 20 minutes later. Sure, her wet hair was piled on top her head and she didn't have any make up on, but she was ready. Luke locked up the cabin and joined her.

"Did you enjoy the cabin?" He asked, reaching his hand across the console to take hers.

She turned to smile at him, the bright morning sun making her squint, "Yeah, I really did. It was nice to get away."

Luke squeezed her hand. "I'm glad."

Andy felt incredibly guilty sitting there, holding his hand, acting as if everything was okay. She knew that even though she and Sam had stopped, hadn't actually had sex, Luke would be incredibly hurt and angry if he knew what had happened. Even if Andy could chalk up staying over Sam's as one friend helping another, it was wrong. If she and Luke were really happy, it wouldn't have happened.

It wasn't his fault. Sure, she'd been upset that he had chosen to go to the rec center instead of staying with her, but it was his job. She knew what she was getting into when she started dating a homicide detective, or at least she thought she did. The long hours, the unending cases. It was all part of his job. But that wasn't an excuse.

The two rode in silence back to the city. Neither could think of anything to say to the other for an hour and a half.

Sam had made up his mind that morning. He was going to apologize to Andy and they were going to work things out. They were going to go back to the way things were… before. If she was happy with Luke he was just going to have to accept that.

Steeled with determination to make things, to show that he could be the bigger man, Sam entered the station with two coffee cups in his hands. He was proud of himself for not even flinching when he saw Andy and Callaghan walking in together.

Andy and Luke said their goodbyes, each heading to their respective offices. Andy went to the locker room and quickly changed, thankful that no one else was in there. She didn't feel like fielding questions about the fishing cabin just yet.

They got their assignments for the day. Andy was with Swarek. She knew that would happen. He was her training officer; they couldn't avoid each other forever. When Best called their names together, she had glanced over at him. He looked over at her, too, and had given her a small smile.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

When Best sent the officers on their way to "serve and protect," Andy cautiously approached Sam.

"Good morning," he greeted her, pleasantly.

His tone was unexpected and threw her off for a moment. "Good morning," she replied after a beat.

He handed her on of the coffee cups in his hand, "This is for you. Cream, no sugar."

"You remembered," she smiled, not sure why she was so surprised.

He nodded, "Yeah." He noticed Callaghan looking at them from across the room, so he patted Andy on the arm and told her he'd met her in the car.

Andy just nodded at him. "Yeah, okay." As she watched Sam walk away she made eye contact with Luke and sent him a small, shaky smile.

He just blinked and turned away, focused on the folder in his hands.

"Okay," Andy said to no one in particular. Quickly grabbing her things, she headed out to the cars, ready to start the new day.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks again for your reviews! I am new to this whole fanfic writing thing so it has definitely boosted my confidence and makes me want to write more! This chapter follows immediately after the last, no time lapse between. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 3**

Sam was already warming up the car when Andy got there. Despite the heat wave earlier that month the temperatures had plummeted and Andy was glad to get out of the cold air and into the warm car. She placed her coffee into one of the holders and looked over at Sam.

"Ready?" He asked, watching her settle in.

Andy buckled her seatbelt, "Yep, let's go."

Sam carefully eased his way out of the lot and onto the street in front of the station. "We weren't given specific orders," he told her, flicking on the right turn signal, "So I figured we'd just drive around the park and up through the neighborhoods on that side for now."

Andy nodded, "Sounds good."

The two drove in silence. It was uncomfortable, but not necessarily tense. Each was trying to think of what to say, how to bring up what they both wanted to talk about. Andy remembered her thoughts from the night before, her desire to figure out what had happened to make Sam go off like he had. She had prepared herself to face the immature, jerk Sam from yesterday, not this new, mellow Sam. Mature Sam.

Everything that she had prepared to say to him on the way back from the lake went out the window.

Sam broke the silence by clearing his throat, "Andy," he started, "I wanted to apologize."

Andy didn't say anything, just glanced over at him waiting for him to continue. It wasn't that she was trying to be difficult; she really just didn't know what to say.

She's not going to make this easy, Sam thought to himself. "Really apologize. I know we talked at the Penny last night but…" he shook his head, "I think there's more to be said." He paused. "More that I want to say."

"Okay," Andy said softly, looking down at her hands.

When he didn't start talking immediately she shot him a smile. "Go on," she laughed lightly.

Sam cleared his throat again and then grinned at her. "I'm not used to this McNally," he said, gesturing with his hands, "the whole apologizing, admitting I was wrong thing. It's new for me. Give me a break."

"Whenever you're ready," she teased. It felt good, almost familiar.

"Okay, first thing. You did the right thing turning Bibby in. I know it wasn't easy and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you," Sam stated, his tone serious.

Andy looked over at him. "I could have used your help," she responded, honestly.

"I know. No matter what happens from here on out, I want you to know that I'll back you up on this." He glanced over at her. "No matter what."

She held his gaze for a moment. "Thank you."

"You are a good police officer, Andy."

He was genuine in his praise for her and it almost choked her up. Swallowing the lump that had unexpectedly risen in her throat she responded, "Thank you. That really means a lot."

It did. The past couple of weeks had had her questioning her desire to be a police officer, questioning if she was really cut out for it, if she was good at it.

"You're welcome. And as for the other stuff…" Sam started.

Other stuff? She huffed. "That's nice."

Sam shot her a look before focusing back on the road in front of him. "When you came over the other night," Andy stiffened at his words, "I think I got the wrong idea."

"That's my fault, I'm really…" Andy tried to cut him off, but Sam continued.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was." He drew in a long breath. "I mean, I should have gotten the hint when you weren't there when I got out of the shower, but… I think I maybe wanted it to mean something it didn't."

"Oh, Sam," Andy started, not really knowing what to say. She definitely hadn't expected this.

"Its okay," he said, waving his hand, "Anyway, when I got to the station and Callaghan cornered me about your little fishing cabin trip," okay, so maybe he was still a little bitter about that, "I don't know, it set something off in me." He wasn't proud of it, but couldn't think of any other way to describe it. He definitely wasn't going to say, "It made me want to choke him with his own tie." That probably wouldn't help matters.

"I guess I can understand why." Andy said quietly, looking out the window.

Sam wrinkled his brow, thinking. "I don't like the guy," Andy started to protest but he stopped her, again. "I don't like him, Andy. And I don't want you to be with him," he admitted. "But if he really makes you happy, if you really want to be with him, then I won't get in your way."

Andy nodded, absorbing his words. "Okay," she said, hesitantly.

"And I won't beat him up again," Sam chuckled in spite of himself. "I know that I was out of line."

"You were way out of line," Andy agreed.

"I know.

"You acted like a child," she continued.

"Andy, I know. I'm sorry," he said sincerely, his voice strained. Andy looked over at him. He was staring straight ahead, fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel.

Neither spoke for a moment.

"Its not all your fault," Andy admitted quietly.

Sam looked over at her. "What?"

"I mean, don't get me wrong, what happened yesterday was definitely your fault," Andy said, not unkindly. They both laughed before Andy continued, "You were a big jerk and I don't think I deserved that."

He looked at her. "You didn't. Again, I'm sorry."

Andy acknowledged his apology with a small nod of her head. "But I did things that I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have come over to your house," she paused, "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"I didn't mind," Sam grinned at her.

Andy ignored him, continuing, "Or practically forced you to stay with me."

Sam shrugged. "Andy, I know what it's like to go through what you were going through. What you are going through." He reached over and patted her knee, "It's tough. I was glad that you came to me."

"Thanks." Andy breathed in deeply, "But I'm sorry that I gave you the wrong idea about us," she gestured between them.

"Its okay. Like I said, I should have gotten the hint," he chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Andy, when I said 'it was what it was,' I wasn't trying to hurt you."

"Well," she responded, surprised at the emotion in her words, "it did."

Sam squinted into the sun. "I guess I don't really understand why you're so upset about this. I mean, you're with Callaghan, he took you up to his fishing…"

Andy cut him off, her voiced raised. "Because it makes it sound as if the night nothing to you!"

Sam paused, shaking his head slowly, confused. "I don't get it, Andy, help me out. You're the one with the boyfriend. I thought you would be the one that wanted to forget it, to put it behind us and move on. Am I wrong?"

"I don't know." Andy sighed. "I don't know what it meant but I know it didn't mean… _nothing_."

Sam paused at her revelation. "Okay, I think what I was trying to say was," he explained, "that at the time, it was what you needed. You needed someone to be there for you and to comfort you and I didn't mind being that person."

"Thank you," she said quietly, looking over at him.

They were stopped at a stoplight, so he used the free moment to look at her. Really look at her. "When I said that, I just thought it would make it easier on you if we didn't try to over think it and make it more than it was. More than you just needing someone to comfort you after a horrible day. It didn't need to be more than that. I knew you were going away on the fishing trip and… and I don't know…" he shrugged.

Andy kept eye contact for a moment before turning away. "Light's green," she said, pointing forward. Sam pulled forward through the light, but quickly parked the squad car on the side of the road. They had a good view of the park and it would be easier to focus on what he was saying if he wasn't trying to negotiate city traffic.

"I don't want you to think that it meant nothing to me," Sam said, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel uncomfortably. This whole sharing his feelings thing was… different. "I just thought that maybe it meant nothing to you."

Andy was silent, gathering her thoughts. "Sam, you know that I'm with Luke."

Sam rolled his eyes, his determination to be mature momentarily forgotten. "I know McNally."

"No, listen," she put a hand on his arm, "I'm with Luke, and I shouldn't have even come over to your house, but I did. I shouldn't have kissed you, but I did. And I shouldn't have stayed over, but I did. I can't change any of that, and I don't want to pretend like it didn't happen. At least not with you."

"Okay," Sam said warily, not sure where she was going.

"I really appreciated what you did for me Sam." She confessed. "I needed you, and you were there for me."

"Anytime, McNally, I mean it."

"I know."

Sam was still looking at her but not saying anything, so she tried to break the tension by cracking a smile. "And I know that bruise you got was from me."

He grinned back at her. "I wasn't going to mention it."

"I know," she laughed, "You're such a gentleman."

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "You pack quite the punch. Remind me not to get on your bad side… again."

She reached over and cautiously touched him on the side where the bruise was. "Can I?" She questioned, tugging at where his shirt was tucked in.

"Um, sure," Sam mumbled, pulling his shirt out of his pants. He lifted it a couples of inches, all that was allowed by the vest he wore, so she could see the angry purple bruise.

Andy ran her fingers over it, inspecting. He skin was soft and smooth. Just like she remembered. Sam sucked in a deep breath when she pushed a little too hard and she whispered an apology

"Don't worry about it McNally," he sad, pulling his shirt back down. If he was going to maintain his calm, controlled demeanor he couldn't have her running her fingers over his bare skin.

"It looks bad."

Sam shrugged. "You can kiss it and make it better if you want," he grinned at her.

That earned him a swat on the arm, but Andy laughed. "I don't think so."

"Worth a shot," he quipped, winking at her as he tucked his shirt back in.

Andy shifted her gaze to the park in front of them smiling, relieved that the conversation had gone as well as it had. "Are we okay, Sam?"

"Yeah, McNally," he said, "we're good." He clapped her on the shoulder and they both laughed, the tension between them diffused.

Andy sighed as she leaned back in her seat. She was back to being "McNally" for now. She knew it was a sign of him guarding himself against her again, calling her by her last name instead of her first.

Sure, they had discussed everything and had decided they were okay. That didn't mean that she didn't notice the way the muscles in his forearm flinched when he gripped the steering wheel or the way he squinted his eyes when he was trying to focus on something in the distance.

It didn't mean that she forgot the way those arms felt when they were holding her, or the concern she saw in his eyes when he opened to door to her, the way they had darkened later when he was kissing her, pulling her against him.

She didn't forget. She would just have to work on not remembering.

Sam surveyed the park in front of him, his eyes taking in the kids sliding down the slide and swinging on the swings, but his mind was on the girl sitting next to him. Woman. Andy was definitely a woman. He was glad they had talked through everything; glad she was able to look at him without hurt and anger in her eyes. She was still with Luke which he would act like he was okay with. For now.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: As always, thank you for the reviews! You guys are awesome! I'm excited for the direction this story is going. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. Obviously.

Sam sat in the car, waiting for McNally. He saw her slowly approaching, a swagger to her steps and her hips swaying just so. He rolled down the window.

She placed both hands on the windowsill and peered inside. "Hey big guy," she soothed, batting heavily made up eyes at him.

Sam cleared his throat. "You, ah, wanna hop in?"

Andy shook her head, her hair falling around her shoulders, "Not until I know what we're getting into here."

Sam smirked. "You, me. A little fun."

"Sounds like a good time," Andy winked at him. "Its gonna cost you."

Sam cleared his throat, "How much?" He asked, eying the low cut of her top.

"Depends on what you want. We'll start at 50," Andy said, her voice dropping an octave, "and go from there."

Sam was silent for a moment. He held Andy's gaze. "Okay."

Officer Shaw leaned over from the passenger seat, pulling a piece of lettuce off of the burger he was eating. "That was better McNally," he tossed the lettuce out the window. "I almost believed you."

"Thank you, Sir." Andy stood up, catching Sam's eye as she yanked up her top. She'd caught the appreciative glance he'd given her chest. He grinned, shrugging his shoulders innocently. He was just playing a role, he told himself.

"Do you think I'm ready for tomorrow?" She asked, smoothing down her skirt.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, that was good."

"Thank you for giving me another chance, Sir," Andy said, excitedly, "I really appreciate it, I won't mess it up this time."

Letting Andy go undercover again as a prostitute was pretty much the last thing Sam wanted to happen, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Yeah, yeah." he said, starting the squad car up. "Go change and then meet me back here. We need to get back on patrol."

"Yes Sir." She looked over at the other officer in the vehicle. "Officer Shaw?"

He looked over at her, mid-bite. "What McNally?" he asked, the words jumbled by his full mouth.

"Don't eat my burger," Andy warned, turning to head back inside the station.

"Hey," Sam called after her, "Wash that crap off your face, too. You look like a hooker."

"I thought that was the point, sir," she shot back, smiling.

Sam smiled as he watched her retreating form. They had settled back into their roles fairly easily after their talk the other day; he was her training officer, she was his rookie. Sure, sometimes she caught him looking at her a little too long and he found himself worrying about her more than he probably should have, but all in all their relationship, both personal and professional, was back on track.

"Was it really necessary for her to dress up?" Shaw asked, waving a french fry in the air, interrupting his thoughts.

Sam unwrapped his own burger. "Her idea." He watched as Shaw finished his burger and threw the wrapping on the ground. "Hey, pick that up," he said, pointing at the trash.

Shaw rolled his eyes, but reached down to collect his trash anyway. "Yes mother," he mumbled, balling up the paper and napkins and stuffing them in the to-go bag. "Anyway, I think she'll be fine."

Sam shrugged noncommittally, "We'll see."

Shaw wrinkled his nose, "What is this?" He held up Andy's burger.

"Hey," Sam said, grabbing it from him. "It's a veggie burger, and she asked you not to eat it."

"Like I would want to eat that crap," Shaw grabbed his drink out of the cup holder and opened the passenger's side door. "See ya later, Sammy," he said, exiting the car.

Sam held up his drink to the other officer, then settled back into his seat. A call came in over the radio, and he said they'd take care of it. He took a couple of sips of his soda before noticing Andy exiting the station. She was back in her uniform, her hair was pulled back and her face was scrubbed clean.

She looked beautiful, Sam admitted to himself, immediately reprimanding himself for the thought.

"Hey," Andy said, climbing into the car.

Sam handed her burger to her. "Hey."

She took it from him, eying the torn wrapper warily.

"I saved it for you," Sam said, pride in his voice, "I practically had to fight Shaw off."

"My hero," she beamed at him, mocking.

Sam shot her a smirk, but didn't say anything.

"Where're we going?" She asked, biting into the burger.

Sam pulled the car out of the station, turning the lights on and heading left. "Dispatch just called in a theft at a convenience store over on 7th. I said we'd go check it out."

"Let's go," Andy said, buckling her seat belt.

Later that day, long after their shift was over, Sam found Andy pouring over paperwork at her desk.

"McNally, what's all this?" he asked, picking up some of the files.

Andy groaned, not looking up from the forms she was working on. "Officer Shaw's paperwork. Remember how you volunteered me to do it?"

Sam felt a twinge of guilt knowing it was his fault she was hunched over her desk like she was, working late into the night. "He's still making you do all of this?"

"Oh yeah," Andy sighed, "And he added on the shift from the day he got shot. Do you have any idea the number of forms you have to fill out after getting shot?"

Sam did know, actually, but he didn't say it. Instead he sat down at the adjoining desk. "Well, it's been a slow week. You'll probably have time to work on this stuff later if you want."

"No, it's okay," Andy said. "I just want to get it done."

Sam looked around. "Where's Callaghan?" Surely the golden boy would rather her be spending time with him than here at the station any later than she had to.

"Out on a case," Andy quickly stated. By the strain in her voice and the way her fingers clutched the pen she was holding, Sam could tell that she wasn't exactly happy about it.

"Uh oh," he teased, "trouble in paradise?"

Andy finally looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "No," she said sharply, "he's just busy."

Sam held his hands up in innocence. "Okay, sorry." So they hadn't quite gotten to the point where he could tease her about her relationship with Callaghan, good to know.

"What are you still doing here?" Andy asked after a minute. He was reading one of the reports she was getting ready to file, feet propped up on the desk and leaning back in his chair. It wouldn't have been a strange site if it weren't almost ten o'clock at night.

Sam looked at her over the file. "Helping Jerry out. They've got a big stakeout tomorrow, we were ironing out the details."

Andy raised her eyebrows. "Sounds interesting."

"It probably won't be," Sam responded, "Stakeouts can be boring. Nothing happens for hours and hours."

"Do you think we'll ever get to do a stakeout?"

Sam shrugged, "Maybe. If you want I can ask Jerry to put us one on at some point."

Andy just nodded, "Okay, whatever. I thought it would be fun." She went back to her work.

Sam closed the file he had been reading and surveyed the pile on her desk. "Andy, this is going to take you hours to do."

"I know," she looked over at him, "Thanks to you."

Sam smiled, pulling a couple of the files onto his desk. "Here, I'll help you."

"You don't even file your own reports and you want to help me file these?"

"I know how to file reports, McNally, I just don't when I have you to do them for me," he threw a smirk at her, which she returned. It was either stay here with Andy or go home alone. It was not a difficult decision to make. "Really, I don't mind."

"You don't have to do that, Sir. I can finish it up," Andy protested, even though she was secretly pleased he had offered to stay.

He ignored her, opening up one of the files. "Its my fault you're having to do all of this."

"Well," she conceded, "That's true."

They worked on the files for an about hour, only pausing when Andy asked Sam to clarify something. Sam showed her his system for filing reports and it actually sped things up. His organizational skills never ceased to surprise Andy.

Sam leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He glanced over at Andy and smiled when he saw that she'd fallen asleep. Her head was resting in the crook of her arm, her pen still firmly clasped in her hand.

"Andy," he said softly, shaking her shoulder. She mumbled something that Sam couldn't make out, and then batted his hand away from her shoulder. When he couldn't rouse her he signed and sat back in his chair. They'd done enough work for the evening, he decided, and began straightening the clutter on their desks. He reached over her to turn her computer off and then did the same to his.

"Hey, Andy," he tried again, this time shaking her shoulder with a little more force. "Andy, wake up."

She did suddenly, shooting up in her chair. "Did I fall asleep?"

Sam laughed at the startled expression on her face. "Yeah," he glanced at his watch, "just for about ten minutes though."

She squeezed her eyes shut briefly before running a hand over her face. "Sorry," she said, glancing around. "Did you turn my computer off?"

"Yeah," Sam said, standing. "Come on, its time to go home."

"No, its okay," Andy protested, stifling a yawn. "You can go, I'm just going to stay and finish this up."

"Andy," Sam said patiently, "That wasn't a request. We'll finish this up later. We've got a big night tomorrow, you need your sleep."

"I don't think prostitutes are particularly well rested," she argued, but stood up anyway.

Sam grinned. "Probably not. Come on, I'll take you home."

"Oh, no, that's okay," Andy said, pushing her desk chair in. "You don't have to do that."

"Andy, its almost midnight. I'm not letting you walk home alone, so forget it."

"Fine," Andy sighed, which turned into another yawn. "Let me just go grab my stuff."

"I'll wait here," Sam said, leaning against the desk.

Andy quickly changed and gathered her things in the locker room. She hurried back to Sam, who led her out of the station with a hand on the small of her back.

They hadn't had any physical contact in a while and it felt nice, Andy admitted to herself. Sam dropped his hand when they got to the parking lot and she immediately missed its warmth.

"Did you have dinner?" he asked briskly.

In her state of exhaustion she didn't understand what he had said. "What?"

"Food." Sam clarified. "Did you eat? I'm starving."

Andy rolled her eyes, "You're always hungry." She was surprised when Sam walked her over to the passenger's side of the truck and opened the door for her, holding out hand to help her up.

She loved Sam's truck, she thought as she buckled herself in. There was something so… masculine about it. She knew the appeal was obvious and that there was no reason Sam needed a truck in the city, but it didn't matter.

Sam pulled himself up into the cab. "Do you care if we grab something to eat?"

Andy thought for a moment. "I have leftovers at my house. Nothing fancy, just lasagna my dad made. Its pretty good."

Sam swallowed, "Andy… do you think that's a good idea?"

"What, we're friends, right?" She asked, innocently.

"Yeah," Sam said hesitantly, "We're… friends." The word tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Its just lasagna Sam. Its not like I'm going to jump you when we get up there," she laughed awkwardly.

"I wouldn't stop you if you did." Sam admitted, immediately wishing he hadn't said it out loud.

Andy's eyes shot over to his. "Sam…"

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "I shouldn't have said that."

Andy was silent for a moment. "Its okay." She smiled weakly at him. "The offer still stands."

"Lasagna?" Sam asked.

"Lasagna."

Sam parked his truck in front of Andy's building and looked over at her. "I like lasagna."

She grinned. "Well come on up then."

Hopping out of the truck, Andy led Sam up to her apartment. They shared a beer while she heated the lasagna up and then sat on opposite ends of the couch while they ate. Despite the tense moments in the car earlier, Sam eased then tension and made her laugh by sharing stories from his rookie days. She'd stretched her legs out on the couch and when he noticed her shiver he'd grabbed the blanket off the back to cover them up.

It was comfortable, familiar. It was nice, thought Andy as Sam gestured with his beer bottle and told her about a time in police academy when Jerry had gotten in trouble for hitting on, unbeknownst to him, one of the female senior officers.

"Jerry?" she questioned, laughing as Sam described the way Jerry had been forced to wear a hair net and work in the academy's mess hall as punishment.

"Yep," he said, laughing along with her. When they were finished eating he took their plates back to the kitchen and rinsed them off, setting them in her dishwasher.

"Thanks," she said, meeting him in the hallway with the blanket wrapped around her small frame.

"No problem." Sam looked at his watch. "I've, ah got to get going McNally. Its late."

"Yeah, of course," she said, leading him to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He walked out into the hallway and the paused, turning around. "Goodnight, Andy." He brought up on of his hands to rub her shoulder. "I had a good time tonight."

She grinned at him. "Me, too. Goodnight."

Sam smiled, dropping his hand from her shoulder and waving slightly. He watched as she closed her door and then waited to hear the lock latch before heading down to his truck.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I've really appreciated all of the reviews. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this story. Its been so much fun to write!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

Chapter 5

Sam approached Andy's desk with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. "Way to go McNally," he said, handing her the cup and propping himself against the desk next to her. "I've got to hand it to you, the practice really paid off. You did a great job last night."

Andy beamed with pride, "Thank you sir."

It was early in the morning after the John Sweep and Andy and Sam were finishing up their reports from the night before. Altogether Andy, Gail and Traci had gotten 28 johns, all of whom had been booked and were awaiting bail.

Andy had done an incredible job the night before. Whereas she had been self-conscious and unsure the first time they'd attempted a john sweep with the new rookies, she was confident and sexy the second time around.

The night had been an exercise in control for Sam. Every time a new car pulled up to Andy the knot in the pit of his stomach grew. Anytime one of the men tried to reach out and touch her, touch Andy, he had to fight to keep his fists from clenching.

It's her job, he told himself. It's _your_ job.

That fact didn't make it any easier to watch her try to seduce the men; she'd batted her eyebrows, licked her lips, flipped her hair and leaned into their cars _just_ enough to give them a glimpse down her shirt. If Sam didn't know better he would have thought she was a professional.

After he'd cautioned her one too many times through the ear piece to "Back off, McNally," she'd waited for a car to pull and then marched over to where he and Officer Shaw were stationed.

"Are you going to let me do my job?" She asked, hands on her hips and glaring at Sam.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his concern, but having his voice in her ear all the time made it really difficult to focus on the men in the cars.

Sam glanced at Shaw before responding. "You can do your job without putting on a peep show, McNally."

Offended, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not doing anything that Gail and Traci aren't doing and you're not saying anything to them."

"Well, Peck and Nash aren't _my_ rookies," he shot back defensively.

"It doesn't matter," Andy said, eyes flashing, "and you know it."

It was true. Sam narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine. Just…"

"Be careful," Andy finished for him, a softness returning to her eyes. "I know, Sir. Don't worry."

When she left, Shaw turned to Sam and raised his eyebrows.

"What?" Sam asked.

Shaw didn't say anything, just shook his head.

He didn't have to say anything, Sam knew. This was why there were rules against training officers being involved with their rookies. For the rest of the night he kept his mouth shut and let Andy do her thing. She proved that she could handle herself.

"You got even more than Peck did," Sam told her later that morning, lowering his voice so no one would hear them. "That's impressive."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?" She knew most men would think Gail was sexier than she was; she had the whole blond bombshell thing going on. Andy didn't need Sam to point it out.

Sam shrugged. "Hooking just comes more naturally to some people," he grinned.

That was not what Andy had expected him to say. She snorted in laughter and then brought her hand up to cover her mouth, embarrassed. She slapped Sam's arm. "That's not funny."

"Apparently it was," he said, amused. "Anyway, we're almost done here. Do you need a ride home?"

"That's not necessary Sammy," Luke said, coming up behind the two of them. "I'll take you home," he told Andy, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Sam crossed his arms and gave Luke a tight smile in greeting. "Callaghan."

Luke tossed Sam a slight nod. "You almost ready to go?" He asked Andy.

"Yeah, almost…" she started, "I've got just a little bit to finish." She looked over Sam, her eyes pleading.

Sam narrowed his eyes at her but relented with a flick of the wrist, "Go. I'll finish up here."

"Are you sure?" she asked, already gathering up her things.

"Yeah. Go." He ordered gruffly.

"Thank you Sir."

Luke clapped Sam on the arm as he steered Andy past her training officer and out of the station.

The bright light of the early morning sun made Andy squint as Luke pulled her over to his car. She was so tired she was stumbling over her own feet, but Luke guided her along, their hands tightly clasped. When they made it to the car, Andy leaned against the passenger's side door.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," she told him.

Luke chuckled. "I guess I look good compared to sleazy johns, huh?"

"You look good compared to anyone," Andy tossed back. "I want nothing more than to go home," she said, pulling Luke against her with a lazy smile, "and curl up with you in my bed." She had decided that if she was going to be with Luke, she was really going to be with him. She wrapped her arms behind his neck and held him close.

"Hmm…" Luke hummed, "That sounds nice," he said, pressing a sweet kiss against her lips. "But I can't. I've got to work today."

The hazy fog of exhaustion that had settled in Andy's mind was momentarily lifted. "Oh."

Luke grinned at her. "It _is_ a work day," he said, almost condescendingly.

"Of course it is." Andy shook her head and then forced a bright smile, "I don't know what I was thinking."

Luke opened the car door for her and she slid in, tossing her bag in the back. Andy watched as he made his way over to the other side of the car, his head high and his stride confident. He nodded in the direction of another detective before slipping into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Andy. I thought I'd just take you home and get you settled in." Luke reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can come over later though, after work."

Andy yawned, leaning against the headrest. "That's sounds great." Her eyelids were heavy and she fought to keep them open on the short ride to her house.

She told Luke that he didn't need to walk her up to her apartment, she would be fine. He hesitated a moment before handing her bag to her and saying he'd be by later.

Andy stood on the sidewalk outside of her building, waving as Luke pulled away.

There was no reason to be annoyed, she thought, climbing the stairs to her apartment. Luke really did have to work. Just because she had the day off didn't mean that he did. Besides, she told herself, it was probably better that he hadn't come over. All she wanted was a hot shower, some food and sleep, in that order. Letting herself into the apartment, she threw her bag to the side and made her way to the bathroom, pulling off articles of clothing as she walked.

When her alarm clock when off later that day, Andy shot a hand out to silence it, hitting the snooze button. Groaning, she pulled a pillow over her head to block out the light streaming through her windows.

It was early afternoon. As much as she wanted to, Andy couldn't allow herself to sleep the whole day away. She had to go to work the next day, and she needed to get some sleep that night. The few short hours of rest she had gotten had done little to chase the tiredness out of her body. With her eyes still closed, she stretched out her muscles. Her calves screamed at her after being in those hooker boots all night.

The alarm clock went off again and this time Andy sat up, yawning. She stretched her arms over her head before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Luke got off work at five, so Andy planned to have dinner ready around six thirty. The meal she was going to make wasn't fancy or complicated, but she knew he'd like it.

Six o'clock came around and Andy began to set the small table in her kitchen. She placed a couple of candles in the center of the table and put wine glasses at each setting. At six thirty she plated the spaghetti and garlic bread, deciding she could keep it warm in the oven until he got there. At seven she decided to go ahead and put the food on the table, certain he would be there soon.

When she hadn't heard from him by eight, she poured herself a glass of wine and pulled a robe around the midnight blue dress she had chosen for the evening. She settled into the sofa and turned on the television, mindlessly flipping through the channels.

It didn't matter what show was on, she wasn't really watching it. This had become a pattern, Luke saying that he would be over and then not showing up, not even calling. He'd make excuses the next day, saying he'd gotten called to a crime scene, that he didn't have cell phone reception. Who was she to argue?

It was after midnight when Andy was woken up by someone pounding on her door. She climbed off the sofa and hurried to the door, peering through the peephole to see Luke standing outside.

She opened the door slightly, not enough to let him in. "Hi," she greeted, warily.

His eyes were bright and he smiled charmingly at her. "Hey sweetie, " he said, slightly slurring the words. "You gonna let me in?"

"You were supposed to be here hours ago," Andy said, calmly. Not moving.

"Ah, baby, come on. Let me in," he said, pouting pitifully at her. When that failed to sway her, he pushed the door open a little and she let him. He planted a kiss on her cheek and then moved into the apartment. When he got to the kitchen he took a moment to register to scene in front of him.

Andy had fallen asleep on the sofa before she put their meal away, so it sat on the table just as she had left it. The spaghetti was cold now, the salad had wilted and the candles had flickered out. "Oh," Luke said, tugging at the sash of her robe to draw her close to him. "Did you make all of this for me?"

"Yes." She nodded sharply before moving out from under his arm, pulling her robe tightly around her. "It was ready about five hours ago, so it's no good now."

Luke stood quietly to the side and Andy gathered the dishes from the table. She scraped the cold spaghetti into the trash and then deposited the plates in the sink. "I'm sorry, babe," he tried. "I didn't know you were making dinner."

"You said you were going to come over after work," she accused, not looking at him.

"I know, but we didn't make set an exact time."

"And you thought midnight was okay?"

"I'm sorry babe," He grinned at her, "I just lost track of time."

Andy stopped washing the dishes to look at him. "Are you drunk?" she asked.

"No! We solved a huge case today, the Lincoln murders." Andy knew of the case. Luke had been working on it for several days. "I just went out with the guys to celebrate."

Andy narrowed her eyes and he help up his hands in innocence. "Okay, I had a couple of drinks. But I'm not drunk." He winked at her, "Promise."

When Andy didn't respond he moved to stand next to her, pulling the plate out of her hand and putting it into the sink. "I'm sorry," he whispered, running a hand through her hair and down her arm. He clasped one of her hands in his.

She felt herself relenting, allowing him to pull her into his arms. He kissed her softly on the lips and when she didn't protest he did it again. He loosened the sash on her robe and, slipping his hands inside, pushed it off of her shoulders, watching as it pooled at her feet. Letting out a low whistle, he admired the dress beneath. It was simple, but it clung to every curve of her body.

He moved his hands to stroke her back, feeling the fabric beneath his fingers. "This is nice," he purred into her ear, holding one of the straps of the dress between his fingers. "Did you wear it for me?"

Andy nodded, momentarily wrapped up in the kisses he was placing across her collarbone. She felt his hands move around her waist to the knot at the small of her back, and she snapped back to reality.

"No," she said, pushing him away. "You can't just come in here after not calling all night, after going out drinking with your buddies when you told me you'd be here and just expect everything to be okay."

"I know, sweetie, I'm sorry." He tried to kiss her again, but her mind was made up.

"No, Luke." She backed away, putting space between the two of them. The look of confusion in his eye made her hesitate. "I can't do this anymore."

He stepped towards her, "What do you mean… this?"

She stood taller, resolute. "You put your work ahead of me all the time Luke. I thought I was okay with it, but I'm not. I've tried to be, I really have. But I just can't pretend like its okay anymore."

"Andy," Luke soothed, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said, holding up a hand to stop him from embracing her, "You're job is importat and you are good at it. I get that. I'm not going to take that away from you."

"You're important to me, too," Luke tried, moving closer to her again.

She stepped back. "Not important enough to even warrant a phone call."

"Oh, come on Andy, it was one time, I said I was sorry," he protested lightly, flashing her a smile.

She shook her head. "You know it hasn't been just one time." He did.

Luke shook his head and then rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Are you seriously doing this?"

She nodded, inhaling deeply.

"You're breaking up with me?" He clarified, anger rising in his voice.

"Yes," she answered, simply.

He didn't say anything, but she could see the way his jaw was clenching and the almost imperceptible way his eyes had narrowed with anger.

"I'm sorry, Luke." She moved passed him to the front door, opening it. "I think you need to leave now."

He didn't move from his spot in the kitchen. "Does this have anything to do with Swarek?"

She whirled around to face him. "What?"

"You heard me," he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Officer Swarek is my training officer," she reminded him.

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "And?"

"There's nothing going on between me and Sam," she stated calmly. "This doesn't have anything to do with anyone but you and me. Now," she said, gesturing to the door, "Its time for you to leave."

"This is a mistake, Andy," Luke said, moving towards the open door. He stood right in front of her, his

height intimidating.

"Well, if that's true, its my mistake to make," she said, holding her ground.

Luke stared at her for a moment and she held his gaze. Finally he grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and stalked out of the apartment, not saying another word to her.

She closed the door behind him and leaned against it, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She dropped to the floor, too tired to stand. Resting her head in her hands, she waited for the tears to come, but they never did.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Yay! I'm glad Luke is gone, too. Thank you for all of the reviews, they are so encouraging and I love hearing that you guys are enjoying the story. It's not over yet! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 6**

Andy was startled awake the next morning by the ringing of her phone. Without looking, she reached an arm out to the bedside table, fumbling to find it. When she was finally able to locate it, she grabbed it and flipped it open.

"'Hello," she said, her voice still scratchy with sleep.

"McNally," Sam's gruff voice greeted her, "is Callaghan taking you to work this morning?"

Andy snorted. "I highly doubt it," she said, pushing herself up in the bed. "Why?"

"Have you looked outside yet this morning?"

Andy yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking at the clock beside her bed. She must have forgotten to set her alarm the night before. "Sam, you just woke me up, I haven't even gotten out of bed yet."

"Well, when you do decide to grace the world with your presence, you'll notice its pretty much a torrential downpour out there."

Andy stood up and pulled her blinds open. Sam wasn't lying. The skies were dark and it was pouring. "Oh, wow."

"Yeah. I'll come pick you up. Be ready in thirty minutes."

"Um, that's okay," Andy said, walking into the kitchen. "I can just take the bus." Even though he never seemed to mind, she always felt guilty whenever he had to go out of his way for her.

"Andy, don't be ridiculous. I'll call you when I'm outside." Andy rolled her eyes even though no one could see her. Only Sam could manage to be rude while offering to do something helpful.

"Okay," Andy said, pouring herself a cup of coffee while silently thanking the person who had invented the preset option, "thanks."

"Yep, see you in thirty." As usual, he hung up without saying goodbye.

With her coffee mug in hand, Andy leaned back against the kitchen counter. After Luke had left the night before Andy had cleaned the kitchen and fallen into her bed, exhausted. The emotions that she was expecting to come never did. She didn't cry, she wasn't even that sad. More than anything she felt relief. Like this huge burden had been lifted and she didn't have to carry it anymore. She didn't have to try so hard anymore to make something work that obviously wasn't.

She was being honest when she told Luke it had nothing to do with Sam. When she pushed Sam out of the picture, when she just looked at her and Luke… it didn't work. She hadn't lied. Luke WAS good at his job, but she didn't want to be anything like him. It was hard to talk with him about cases the cases he was working on or about how her day had gone when they approached the law enforcement so differently. And when you took away talking about their jobs… well there just wasn't that much left to talk about.

And she knew that all cops took their jobs seriously and to some extent could probably be considered workaholics, but Luke just went way overboard. She had seen what that had done to her family, how her dad had put the job first and her mom second. She and Luke were nowhere near that stage in their relationship, but she saw things in him already that she knew she didn't want.

She didn't need him to drop what he was doing no matter what and be with her, but she did want someone who would recognize when she needed them, when she needed someone to comfort her and hold her. She needed someone that would make her a priority every once and a while, too. Someone like Sam.

It has _nothing_ to do with Sam, Andy reminded herself. Still, she couldn't help but think back to the night after the shooting, couldn't help but think of how Sam had, without question, opened his door for her. How even after she'd pushed him away, even though she knew it had hurt him, he'd been there for her. He'd held her through the night and he'd calmed her down when she'd woken up from nightmares time and time again. He'd been there for her when Luke was too busy, too wrapped up in the case.

But it had nothing to do with Sam.

Breathing deeply, Andy allowed herself just a couple more moments of peace to sip her coffee before hurriedly pouring what was left down the drain and getting ready for the day.

Exactly thirty minutes later her phone rang. Seeing that it was Sam who was calling she flipped it open, "I'm on my way down."

"Do you have an umbrella?"

"What?" The question was unexpected and threw her off.

"An umbrella, you know, round, you hold it above your head…"

"I know what an umbrella is Sam," Andy cut him off. She looked into the bag that she was carrying down the stairs, "Um, no, I don't."

"Okay." Again he hung up without saying goodbye.

We're going to have to talk about that, Andy thought.

When she pushed open the door of her apartment building she shouldn't have been surprised to see him standing there, umbrella open, ready to walk her to where the truck was parked, but she was.

"I couldn't get close to the door," he explained, holding the umbrella over both of their heads while they made the quick trip to his truck. In reality, it was maybe twenty feet from the door but Andy was thankful nonetheless. Not only was it raining, it was cold.

Really cold, thought Andy, as her teeth chattered on the way to the truck. In order to fit under the umbrella, Sam pulled her close to him and the heat that was radiating off his body was warm and comforting.

He unlocked the truck and helped Andy climb inside before rounding the front and climbing in himself, shaking the water off the umbrella before depositing it behind his seat. "This is crazy, huh?" He said as he pulled his seat belt across his body to buckle. "I passed a couple of fender benders on the way over here, it's going to be a busy day."

"Great," Andy sighed, buckling her own seatbelt. Maybe it would be good. A busy day would take her mind off her break up with Luke.

Sam pulled the truck out into the road and did a quick U-turn to head towards the station. He pointed down to the cup holder beside her. "That's for you."

Andy smiled, lifting the hot coffee to her lips, "You're spoiling me."

Sam was focused on the road in front of them, but she could see his lips twitch with a smile, "Yeah, well. I was getting one for myself so…" he trailed off. "Besides, it was a drive through. I didn't even have to get out of the truck."

"Well, thank you anyway. For the coffee and the ride. I probably would have melted by the time I made it to the bus station," she laughed.

He glanced over at her for a moment and smiled. "Well we couldn't have that."

Andy returned his smile and settled back into her seat. Eventually she'd tell Sam about the night before but just then she didn't want to ruin the moment. Andy felt as thought they were in a cocoon, tucked inside the warmth of Sam's truck while the rain beat down around them and the windshield wipers wove a mesmerizing pattern in front.

When they made it to the station Sam dropped her off under the awning near the entrance and told her he'd see her inside.

Andy made her way to the locker room and changed into her uniform. She laughed when Traci came in, covered in mud, and told her about how Leo had managed to splash in every puddle that morning when she'd walked him from the car to the door of his daycare.

"This happened in less than a block!" Traci exclaimed, gesturing to the watermarks and mud stains on her pants. "I never thought I'd be so happy to get out of my civvies and get into this uniform."

Andy laughed, buttoning her own navy shirt. She hesitated for a moment, but turned to face Traci. "So Luke and I broke up last night." There, it was out there.

"Whoa," Traci said, yanking her shirt over her head.

"Or rather, I broke up with him," Andy rambled on quickly.

Traci paused for a moment, turning to face Andy. "You okay?" Concern was evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I really am." Andy nodded, reassuring both herself and Traci. "It was the right thing to do. I just wanted to tell someone, you know? It makes it real."

"What happened?" Traci asked, propping her foot up on the bench to tie her shoe.

Andy furrowed her brow, "Nothing specific, really. Last night he was supposed to come over after work and he didn't show up until after midnight." Andy fidgeted with her badge, "Just a lot of little things like that. I mean, it would have been different if he'd thought to call when he was going to break our plans, but he never did."

Traci nodded, slipping on her vest. "How'd he take it?"

"Um, fine I guess," Andy said, shrugging. "He left pretty quickly, we didn't talk about it much."

"Well, good riddance," Traci said, pulling Andy into a quick hug. "I never liked that guy anyway. He was too smooth, too smarmy. But if you need to talk about it, let me know."

"Thanks, Traci," Andy said, hugging her friend back.

Andy didn't see Luke that morning as they got their guns and went for report. It wasn't until afterwards, when she told Sam she'd meet him in the car in a minute, that Luke had cornered her in one of the hallways outside of the bathroom.

"Andy," he said, grabbing her arm, "Hold up."

Andy jerked her arm free of his grasp with a little more force that she meant. "What is it Luke?"

He put one arm up on the wall behind her and leaned towards her, effectively blocking her in. "I saw you getting out of Swarek's truck this morning."

"Yeah, so?" Andy said, leaning back against the wall, hoping to feign a confidence she didn't feel.

"I thought you said there was nothing going on."

"He gave me a ride because of the rain." She folded her arms in front of her chest, "He was being nice."

"That's convenient," he said accusatorily.

"That's the truth," she shot back.

Luke smirked. "Fine. Look, about last night," he brought a hand to her waist and she immediately backed away from his touch.

"Please don't touch me," she said, her voice even. From where she was standing she could see into the main room. Her eyes scanned the area, hoping to find Traci, until she noticed Sam looking in their direction. She tried to signal to him with her eyes and was relieved when she saw him make his way towards them.

She didn't want to be having this conversation with Luke, period, much less at her workplace where any of the other officers could overhear them.

Luke dropped his hand, but didn't back away. "I know you were upset Andy and I'm sorry."

"Luke, look," Andy said, uncomfortable at how close he was standing to her, "I forgive you, but that doesn't change anything."

"Oh come on Andy," he said, raising his hand to her arm again. "You don't really want to do this, do you?"

"I haven't changed my mind, if that's what you're asking," Andy said, giving a pointed look to the hand that rested on her shoulder.

"It was late, you were tired and upset," Luke soothed, grinning at her in a way she had once found charming. "It's not the best time to make decisions like that."

"Luke," she said, lowering her voice so she wouldn't draw any more attention to them, "we are not having this discussion. I'm not changing my mind… you and I are over."

Luke started to say something, but he was interrupted.

"Callaghan," Sam said, smoothly sliding between Luke and Andy, creating a physical barrier between the two. "You gonna let my rookie do her job today?" He felt Andy's small hands clutch the material of his shirt and he could hear her breathing deeply behind him.

"Sammy," Luke said, his grin tight, "Andy and I were just having a conversation."

"If she wants you to talk to her, which right now it doesn't look like she does, you can talk to her later, on personal time. " He paused, clarifying, "Its work time now."

Luke stood to his full height, looking down to the shorter Swarek. When Sam didn't move or seem even the slightest bit intimidated, he relented. "Fine," he said, backing away. "We'll talk later."

"I'm sure she can't wait," Sam said sarcastically. When Luke was out of sight, he turned to face the rookie who hadn't moved from her position behind him. "You okay?"

He'd seen Luke stop her from across the room and had assumed they were just having a lover's spat. It wasn't until he saw Andy flinch away from Luke and send him a desperate "please help me" look that he knew something was wrong.

Andy nodded, shaken by the encounter. She'd seen Luke be intense before, but that intensity had never been directed at her. "Yeah, thanks."

Sam looked at her, wanting to ask what had happened, but decided not to press her just then. "Okay," he said, patting her on the arm. "I'm going to go get the car, I'll meet you outside."

"That's okay, I'm ready, " She forced a smile and turned to walk with him. It was still raining heavily when they got outside and they paused underneath the awning.

"Well," Sam said, grinning at her, "You ready to make a run for it, McNally?"

Grinning back at him, she took off. "Race you to the car," she called to him over her shoulder.

"I have the keys McNally," Sam yelled, chasing after her. She didn't respond, but he could hear her laughing as she slumped in front of the squad car, beating him by just a few seconds.

"I beat you," Andy teased as he unlocked the car.

"You cheated," he claimed, not really upset. "You had a head start."

"Whatever," Andy said, sliding into her seat and turning one of the vents towards her. Despite the fact that they had run to the car, they were both soaked to the bone and Andy was freezing.

"Turn up the heat," she pleaded as soon as Sam turned the car on.

"Okay, okay, McNally," Sam said, obeying her request. "Calm down." He turned the radio on, listening to the chatter for a few moments. As soon as they pulled out of the station and onto the street, a call came in about an accident nearby and Andy told dispatch they were on it.

As Sam had predicted, it was a busy day. Andy and Sam would finish up at one traffic accident and immediately be called to another. The rain made it hard for people to see even a few car lengths in front of them and the roads were slippery. Thankfully, there were only bumps and bruises, no serious injuries.

"Just wait until it ices," Sam told Andy once they were back in the car later that afternoon. "It gets even crazier."

"I bet," Andy replied, trying to dry off with a towel she had found in the trunk. She squeezed some of the water out of her hair but gave up when she realized there wasn't much else she could do. "I can't wait to get out of these wet clothes and take a hot shower."

Sam smirked, internally debating whether or not he should make a comment about what she had just said. He decided against it. Instead, he asked her about what had been on his mind most of the day. "You want to tell me what that was with Callaghan this morning?"

Andy sighed. She had known this would come up sooner or later. "Okay, I'm going to tell you something but you can't smile and you can't say 'I told you so'."

Sam grinned. He knew where this was going. "I promise."

"See that," She said, pointing at his mouth. "You're not allowed to do that."

"Just tell me what it is McNally," Sam said, unamused.

"We broke up last night," she admitted.

"Ah." Sam said, raising a knowing eyebrow. With great difficultly, he kept his promise not to smile at the revelation. "By the way he was acting, I take it you were the one that broke up with him."

Andy nodded, "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked, trying not to sound too curious or eager.

"There's nothing really to talk about. It just wasn't working out," Andy said, shaking her head.

"He didn't seem too happy about it."

"He wasn't," she said quietly, looking at her hands.

"He, um…" Sam started, not really sure how to phrase the question and not offend her. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Andy turned to look at Sam. "What? No!" she said, emphatically. Luke may have been angry and upset but he would never have intentionally hurt her.

"Good."

"Why would you ask something like that?"

"Come on McNally, I saw the way he cornered you this morning," Sam said. "It's not an unreasonable question to ask."

Andy could see his point. "No," she assured him, "he never hurt me. It wasn't anything like that."

Sam wanted to ask what exactly it was like, but he didn't want to be too pushy. He tried not to think of what this meant for him, what it meant for them, that Luke was no longer in the picture.

The two rode in silence for a moment. The radio was quiet for the first time that day. "Have you ever just known that a person wasn't right for you?" Andy said after a moment.

Sam nodded. He braked slowly for a stoplight and looked over at her.

"Well, I just knew," she admitted softly, looking out the window instead of at Sam.

Sam had known Luke wasn't right for Andy from the very beginning, but he decided not to point that out.

"Thanks for saving me this morning. With Luke," she clarified. "I've never seen him like that."

"Anytime." Sam said, honestly. "Listen, Andy, don't be too hard on him. I may not like the guy, but he's not a moron. He knew he was losing a good thing. I'd be upset, too," he confessed.

Andy could feel Sam's eyes on her and she shifted her gaze to meet his. The look in his eyes left her without any doubt that he wasn't speaking figuratively. She didn't know what to say, didn't know how to follow that.

"The light's green," she choked out after a moment.

Sam turned his attention back to the road. Neither said anything, both were processing their conversation.

Sam cleared his throat to break the silence. "Do you like chili?"

Andy narrowed her eyes. "Chili?"

"Yeah, chili. I made some this morning. I thought it would be nice with the weather and all."

"You made chili?" Andy asked again in disbelief.

"Yeah, I put it in the Crock Pot." He grinned at her, "Those things are awesome."

She couldn't help but laugh, glad the tense moment from earlier was over. "Chili sounds good."

"Great," Sam flicked on his right turn signal, "we can run by my house and grab some for lunch. I'm starving."

Andy rolled her eyes, "You're always hungry."

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Crock Pots either. Okay, I own _one _Crock Pot and I love it. Do you have one? They are awesome. _


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note**__: I'm glad there seems to be a love of Crock Pots out there__. I'm a little shaken by last night's episode; (If you haven't watched it yet don't read on… spoilers!) I think we've seen so much progression in the relationship between Sam and Andy that it was hard to watch them regress. I did love Andy's comment that hooking up with Sam was "the best mistake of [her] life"! Anyway, this story continues where it left off and is only taking episodes through "Honor Roll" into account. Hope you enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

**Chapter 7**

"Oh my God," Andy said, looking into Sam's pantry. "How have you kept the fact that you are such a freak a secret for so long?"

He had directed her to the pantry for saltine crackers, but when she'd opened the door she'd been met with rows and rows of neatly organized canned and boxed goods. The cans were organized by color, the boxes by height. Andy had never seen anything quite like it.

"I'm not a freak, McNally," Sam said from across the kitchen, "I'm organized. There's nothing wrong with that."

"How did you manage to live in that hellhole when you were undercover?" Andy asked, grabbing the box of saltines. "It must have killed you to not be able to alphabetize everything."

Sam chuckled, scooping them each a portion of chili into tupperware bowls. They had decided to take the chili with them and eat in the car. "My sock drawer was color coded," he admitted.

Andy laughed, leaning back against the counter in Sam's kitchen. "That smells really good." It was weird to be back in his home again, strange to see him so at ease in the kitchen. She took in the little details, like the pictures held by magnets to the refrigerator door, that she hadn't noticed before.

"Are you surprised?" Sam asked, handing Andy her chili, interrupting her thoughts.

"A little," she teased. "I didn't know you could cook."

Sam shrugged, "One of my many hidden talents." He gently pushed Andy out of his kitchen and flipped the light off.

"You have more?" She asked, turning towards him as she walked down the hallway towards the front door.

He winked at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The rest of the day had gone smoothly; after they'd left his house, Sam had parked the squad car near Garrison Park and they'd been able to enjoy their chili in relative peace.

"That was good," Andy told him when she'd finished. "Really good."

Sam just shrugged and continued eating, finishing up just as they were called to an accident on Windham. Their afternoon was spent going from one call to another and when they'd finally arrived back at the station Andy was exhausted.

"Hey McNally, we're going over to the Penny if you want to come along," Officer Epstein told her as she turned her gun in. "Its gonna be a good time. Lots of lovely ladies, not that you'd be interested."

"Thanks, Dov," she said, his enthusiasm bringing a smile to her face, "I'm wiped though, I think I'm just going to go home."

"Come on McNally, you're young, you're hot," Epstein goaded her good-naturedly. "Live it up. You shouldn't be sitting home alone like my eighty five year old grandma."

"Well I feel like an eighty five year old grandma right now," Andy laughed. "Another time," she promised.

Epstein shrugged his shoulders, "Your loss."

Andy gathered her things from the locker room and said her goodbyes. She was headed out of the station when she heard Sam call, "Hey, McNally!"

Slowing her stride, she waited for him to catch up with her.

"Are you headed to the Penny?" Sam asked, coming up behind her.

"Um, no," She answered. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I told Jerry I'd meet him there in a bit." Sam said, smiling ruefully, "I think he's feeling a bit neglected lately."

Andy laughed. "He needs a little man-time, huh?"

"Yeah, something like that. I can take you home, though, if you need." Sam said, walking out of the station with her. They stopped just outside of the entrance, moving to the side so they were out of the way. "He's still working on some case. You know how those detectives can be," he said with a knowing smile.

"Ah," Andy laughed, "I knew you wouldn't last all day without saying something."

"I only promised not to say, 'I told you so'. And I didn't," he pointed out.

"Do you want a prize?"

"Oh," he said with a sly grin and a wink. "I'm sure we could work something out."

Andy just smiled in response, shaking her head. He was flirting with her and she was happy to let him. They held each other's gaze for a second, maybe longer, until another officer called goodnight and interrupted the moment.

Sam coughed. "So about that ride?"

"That's okay," Andy said, glancing around. The rain had stopped and the air was crisp and cool.

"I think I'm going to walk. Clear my head a little."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Of course."

"Thanks though."

"No problem." Sam saw her shiver and noticed that her nose had turned pink from standing in the cold. It was adorable and it was all Sam could do not to kiss the tip of it. "Here," he said, pulling off his leather jacket, "Take this." He wrapped it around her shoulders before she could stop him.

"Oh, no," Andy tried to protest, "I can't take your jacket."

"If you're not going to let me take you home at least take my jacket," Sam said, rubbing his hands quickly up and down her arms in an effort warm her up. "It's freezing."

"Won't you be cold?" She asked, already tugging the jacket tightly around her. She _had _been cold; her thin sweater did very little to ward off the early fall chill. Sam's jacket was cozy and warm and smelled just like him.

"Jerry'll keep me warm," he grinned.

Andy couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "I'm sure he will. Thank you."

Sam shrugged. "You won't be any good to me tomorrow with a head cold."

"And to think I thought you were just being a gentleman," Andy teased.

"Nah, not me," he smiled, eyes twinkling.

For some reason, standing there with him, somewhat hidden by the shadows of the station, Andy felt the overwhelming desire to kiss him goodnight. He was standing there, hands shoved in his pockets again, pretending he wasn't cold when in reality she knew he had to be. He just looked so cute that she couldn't resist. Just on the cheek, she thought. There were no rules against that. A kiss on the cheek wasn't even a real kiss. It was a peck.

Glancing around to make sure they were alone she raised herself up on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his stubbly cheek. It wasn't a romantic kiss, it wasn't the hot, passionate kisses like they'd shared before, but it felt right in the moment.

She quickly pulled back and looked up at him, hoping she hadn't just made a huge mistake. Though his eyes were wide with surprise, a small grin tugged at his lips.

"Goodnight, Sam," she said with a grin of her own.

The small grin that had been tugging at his lips turned into a full-fledged smile. "Goodnight Andy."

Though she didn't want the moment to end, Andy reluctantly turned to walk away. She wasn't very far when she spun back around to him. He hadn't moved from where he'd been standing, just watching her walk away.

"Hey, Sam," she called out. "Do you think you could give me a ride in the morning?"

He grinned, "Yeah, McNally. I think I could probably do that."

At the Penny later that night Jerry came up behind Sam and clapped him on the shoulder, "Hey buddy. Start without me?"

Sam held up his drink, "Club soda."

Jerry sat down next to him at the bar, motioning the bartender over to order. "Scotch on the rocks. Dry."

Sam asked the bartender to make it two and then turned to Jerry, "What took you so long?"

"Just finishing some stuff up with Callaghan," Jerry said, taking a sip of the drink the bartender placed in front of him. He surveyed the bar until he caught Traci's eye, winking at her. She smiled back at him, raising her glass in acknowledgment. "Guy had a stick up his ass today."

Sam smirked, "Yeah, well, he had a rough day."

Jerry raised an eyebrow.

"McNally broke up with him," Sam explained, gesturing with his glass. "Apparently he didn't take it too well."

"Ah," Jerry said with a nod of his head. He took another sip and decided to cut to the chase. "So you guys together now or what?"

"Who?" Sam asked, feigning naivety. He took a slow sip from his drink, refusing to look at Jerry.

"Come on, man," Jerry said, grabbing Sam's shoulder and forcing him to turn in his seat. "Don't be like that."

Sam set his glass down on the bar, chuckling, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, I know I'm just a lowly detective and reading people," Jerry said with a smirk, "Knowing when those people are lying, isn't my job or anything, but I know there's something there."

Sam rolled his eyes, but relented. "No, we're not together." He sighed, "Its complicated."

"Complicated how, exactly?" Jerry asked, leaning closer to Sam.

Sam grinned. "Are we really doing this thing where we talk about our feelings?" He asked, gesturing between the two of them.

"Yeah, we'll go shoot something later, or piss on a tree. It'll be fine," Jerry said. "Continue."

"Piss on a tree?" Sam questioned, cracking up. "That's what you do to feel manly?"

Jerry responded by smirking and holding up his middle finger. "Continue," he prodded.

"The night of the black out," Sam started, lowering his voice so only Jerry could hear. "Andy came over."

"I knew it!" Jerry grinned triumphantly before Sam slapped him on the back of the head.

"It wasn't like that." Sam tried to explain, "She was upset about the shooting."

"So you didn't hook up with her?"

"No, I did." Jerry grinned. "Kind of." Sam shrugged his shoulders, "We stopped before anything really happened."

"Did she stop it or did you?"

Sam eyed his friend. "You are way too interested in this, you know that?"

"So she was the one that stopped it," Jerry concluded.

Sam cleared his throat, looking down at the counter of the bar. "Yes. But she ended up staying over."

"She stayed over even though you guys didn't sleep together?" Jerry asked, baffled by the thought. "Did she stay in your bed?"

"Yes, okay, I told you she was upset." Sam sighed, irritated. "Are you going to keep interrupting or are you going let me finish?"

"Continue, please."

"She stayed over. She had all these nightmares and… I don't know. Anyway, she left the next morning when I was in the shower."

"If you had manned up and gotten her to take a shower with you, she wouldn't have left."

The thought of Andy in his shower, naked, made Sam almost choke on his drink. Jerry slapped him on the back, smiling knowingly. "You okay there, buddy?"

Sam forced himself to stop thinking about Andy and rolled his eyes, "How does Nash put up with you?"

"I don't know," Jerry said honestly, shrugging his shoulders. "So I guess by the way you beat up her boyfriend during retraining that things didn't go so well after that."

"She went with Callaghan to his fishing cabin," Sam said pointedly.

"Ouch," Jerry said, waving the bartender over for another round of drinks. "That stings."

"Yeah. Anyway, they got back; things apparently didn't go so well at the love shack. Callaghan's been ignoring her, working on cases, you know how he is."

Jerry nodded.

"And last night she broke up with him."

"Did she say why?"

Sam shrugged, "Just that she knew he wasn't the right one for her."

Jerry wrinkled his brow, appearing to be thinking about something important. "So I just have one question for you," he said after a minute, "Why aren't you at her apartment right now, showing her who is right for her?"

"They've been broken up for a day, Jerry, " Sam said incredulously.

"And?"

Sam shook his head, not having an answer for that. "I'm her training officer," he pointed out. "There are rules."

Jerry rolled his eyes. "You expect me to believe you're going to let McNally slip through your fingers because of the rules?"

He had a point. Sam actually had no intentions of following the rules.

"Look, Sammy, we both know I'm not one to talk about appropriate work relationships," Jerry said, nodding towards Traci, "and I've seen what this girl has done to you. You can't let her go."

Sam scoffed.

"Don't act like it's not true."

Jerry was right, and Sam knew it. He couldn't remember the last time a girl had gotten under his skin like Andy had, couldn't remember the last time he'd felt for someone like he did for her. "I know," he conceded, "I know."

Jerry grinned. "So are you going to go over there?"

Sam shook his head, "Not tonight buddy, not tonight."

"But sometime, right?" Jerry said, still grinning. Sam nodded and swiveled on his stool to face his friend.

Jerry was still staring at him with that ridiculous grin on his face. "Can you stop doing that? You're creeping me out.

Jerry laughed, "Sorry."

The two men sat silently, both sipping their drinks, both thinking about the women in their lives.

After a moment, Jerry turned to Sam. "Want to throw some darts?"

Sam slapped the counter with one hand, "Sounds good, man. Maybe later we can go piss on a tree."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: Guys, really. Thank you so much for the reviews. I am so glad you are enjoying this story. I'm glad you guys liked the Sam/Jerry conversation, it was so much fun to write. The "piss on a tree" line was inspired by my brother. He told me that one of the greatest things about being a man is the ability to pee anywhere, anytime. Too much information? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. _

Andy yanked her wet hair into a ponytail, sighing in frustration. Sam would be there in just a few minutes and she was nowhere near ready to go. Her alarm hadn't gone off that morning and she'd woken up fifteen minutes ago.

They had settled into a routine the past week with Sam picking her up for work everyday. Since the morning after he'd let her borrow his jacket he didn't even bother to ask if she needed a ride anymore, he just showed up, coffee in hand.

She could definitely get used to Sam Swarek bringing her coffee every morning, Andy thought as she raced through her apartment trying to get ready. She heard her cell phone ringing in the other room and, knowing it was Sam calling to tell her he was there, ran down the hallway to answer it.

She made it to the phone before it stopped ringing, but she wasn't able to slow down fast enough and ended up slamming her big toe into the end table the phone had been resting on.

"Ow!" She yelped in pain as she answered the phone.

"McNally?" Sam questioned on the other end.

"Yeah?" She managed to say, hopping on one foot while furiously rubbing the toe on her other.

"Are you okay?"

Andy took deep breaths in and out, trying to calm down. "I was running to answer the phone and I stubbed my toe on the table," she told him.

"You're carrying on like a banshee because you stubbed your toe?"

"What the hell is a banshee, Sam?" Andy asked, exasperated. "It hurt."

She could hear Sam sigh on the other end of the phone. "Okay. Is it swollen?"

Andy plopped down on the floor so she could examine her foot better. "A little."

"Does it look bruised at all?"

She pulled her foot closer, "Yeah. The side of it is turning purple."

"Okay. Hey, is your door unlocked?"

"Yeah," she said, still examining her toe. She'd unlocked it to get the newspaper. "Why?"

"Because I'm coming in."

Andy froze with panic, "No, wait, Sam I'm…"

Before she could tell him not to come in the door swung open. Sam froze, taking in the sight before him. Andy was sitting on the floor and contorting her body so she could look at her toe. In her underwear.

Nothing you haven't seen before, Sam tried to tell himself, flipping his phone closed with a sharp intake of air. Except that it totally wasn't true. The last time he'd seen her in a state of undress she'd been wearing a sports bra and jeans and he really hadn't been paying that much attention to what she looked like in it. He forced himself to look back up to her face, swallowing hard.

"Not dressed yet," Andy finished unnecessarily. She was sitting there, foot up by her face, in a simple pink and gray striped bra and matching pair of underwear. At least they're cute, she thought. And not a thong.

Sam recovered, smirking. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Shut up," Andy ordered, hunching over and looking around. "Will you grab me that blanket?" She asked, pointing to the one on the back of the couch.

Sam did ask she asked. "Why are you not dressed McNally?"

"I was running late," she explained, wrapping herself in the blanket that Sam handed her. "Why did you come up here?"

Sam shrugged. "You were hurt," he replied, simply. He kneeled down beside her and pulled her foot into his lap. "Let me have look at your toe."

Andy extended her leg out to him, thankful she had remembered to shave recently. A hairy leg would have only added to her mortification that morning.

"Can you wiggle it?" He asked. She did. "Okay, I don't think that it's broken, just bruised."

Andy was having trouble concentrating on what Sam was saying to her. He had pulled her foot to him and while one hand was stabilizing it so he could examine her toe, the other was running up and down her bare calf. She didn't know if he even realized he was doing it, but the sensations he was creating with the simple action were making it difficult for her to breathe.

He knew she was distracted by his touch but he couldn't help but take advantage of his position. Ever since he'd learned how soft and warm her skin was underneath his fingers he'd craved the feel of it again. He was reluctant to stop but knew he shouldn't push it, so he asked, "Do you want to try and walk on it?" When she didn't respond he tried again.

Andy felt Sam gently squeeze her foot, snapping her out of her haze. "Do you want to try and walk on it?" He was smiling patiently at her and she knew he'd had to repeat his question.

She nodded, holding the blanket securely around her with one hand and reaching the other out to him. "Help me up?"

He pulled her easily off the ground, watching her carefully put her weight on her injured foot. "You okay?" He asked, supporting her with a hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah, its fine," she answered, a little embarrassed that she'd made such a big deal out of a stubbed toe. "I'm just gonna go get dressed." She motioned to the couch, "You can wait up here if you want. Give me five minutes."

Instead of sitting down, Sam walked over to the kitchen and opened her refrigerator. "Got any food?" He asked, peering inside. "I didn't have breakfast. I'm starving."

Andy just rolled her eyes. "Help yourself," she called out, heading back towards her bedroom.

True to her word, Andy was ready in five minutes. She reentered her living room to find Sam sprawled out on the sofa, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Here," he said, handing her one.

"A sandwich?" She asked warily, taking it from him.

"First of all, it was the best I could put together from the limited contents of your refrigerator," Sam said, standing up from the couch. "Second, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eat up."

Later that day, they were on patrol and stopped at a stoplight. "That guy's brake light is busted," Andy said, pointing to a red car in front of them in another lane.

When the light turned green, Sam pulled in behind the car and turned the siren lights on. The red car obediently slowed and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. "You want to take this one?" He asked Andy, handing her a clipboard. "If he's compliant just issue a warning."

Andy nodding, taking the clipboard from Sam. "Yeah, sure."

Sam typed in the license plate numbers as he watched his rookie approach the car, signaling for the motorist to roll his window down. When the records came up Sam immediately called to her over the radio, "McNally, get back here now."

The tone of Sam's voice made Andy whip her head back to look at the squad car. She saw Sam getting out and drawing his weapon and before she knew what was happening the motorist slammed his foot on the gas pedal and took off, barreling into traffic.

Andy heard Sam curse and ran back to the squad car. She jumped into the passenger's seat and was closing the door as Sam took off after the car with lights flashing and the siren blaring.

"Call for back up," he ordered. "I ran the plates, the car was reported stolen last night."

Andy made the call into dispatch and watched as the vehicle's speed increased to over seventy miles an hour through the residential streets.

"Did you see any weapons?" Sam asked, eyes on the car in front of him, expertly weaving through traffic.

"No, I didn't see anything," Andy said, "he hadn't even rolled down the window when you called me."

Other squad cars had joined the chase and dispatch told them a roadblock had set about half a mile away.

Andy saw the roadblock come into view and watched at the motorist made a sharp right turn to avoid it. "Hold on," Sam told her, jerking the steering wheel of the squad car to stay with the vehicle.

"You think he's headed for the highway?" Andy asked, grasping the shoulder strap of her seatbelt to steady herself as Sam maneuvered the car through another sharp turn.

"Probably," Sam said quickly, not taking his eyes off the road, "they'll put spike strips down on the entry ramp so he'll either have to stop or blow his tires."

The two followed the vehicle as it tore through the streets. Andy watched Sam's jaw clench and grip tighten on the steering wheel as they chased the vehicle, narrowly missing other motorists in the process.

Finally, Sam was able to pull up right beside the tail of the car. "Hold on," he instructed, "I'm going to try to bump it onto the shoulder." Sam jerked the squad car to the right, hitting the vehicle on the back left corner. Andy watched as the back of the car swerved into a light post on the side of the road.

Sam slammed on the brakes and whipped the car around so they came to rest in front of the halted red vehicle. "Get out, stay behind your door and draw your gun," Sam told Andy, quickly opening his door and ducking behind it.

Other squad cars had surrounded the vehicle, and Andy counted six officers out with their guns drawn, including Diaz and Nash.

"Sir," Sam yelled through the loudspeaker, slowly standing up from behind his door, "Please get out of the vehicle with your hands up."

Andy saw the vehicle's door swing open, but instead of giving up, the suspect took off down the sidewalk of the residential street. She grabbed the radio to call it in, "Suspect on foot, headed east on McKinney, approximately six feet, two hundred pounds, green jacket," before following Sam in pursuit.

She watched him ahead of her, running full speed after the suspect. When the man made a quick turn down an alley, he lost his footing and Sam was able to tackle him to the ground. The suspect tried to wrestle out of Sam's hold and Andy saw that Sam took a couple of punches to the jaw. Though the man was bigger than Sam, Sam was able to hold him to the ground and pull his arms behind his back. By the time Andy and Diaz reached him, Sam was already applying handcuffs and reading him his rights.

Sam stood up, pulling the man to his feet. "Diaz, will you take him to the car?" he asked, handing the man over to the other rookie.

"Of course sir," Diaz said, grabbing hold of the suspect's arm and marching him back towards the car.

Andy watched as Sam bent over, bracing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He coughed and Andy watched, concerned, as he spit out blood.

"Are you okay, sir?" She asked anxiously, kneeling down to his eye level, running a comforting hand up and down him back.

"Yeah," Sam said, spitting again and standing up. "I just bit my tongue when he hit me." He opened his mouth to show Andy where the blood was coming from.

"Do we need to go to the hospital?" Andy asked, taking hold of his face in her hands, inspecting where he had gotten hit.

"No, its okay," he said, stretching his jaw from side to side. He put a hand on Andy's back and guided her to the cars. He looked over at her, scanning her body from head to toe for anything that looked like an injury. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, cutting her eyes over to see Sam still slowly working his jaw. "Are you sure you don't want to get that looked at?"

"I'm good, McNally," Sam assured. "I'll put some ice on it when we get back to the station and it will be fine."

When they made it back to the cars, Officer Shaw poked his head out of the suspect's car. "Canines are on their way," he told them, "but we've already found at least five grams of cocaine and about ten of marijuana."

"That's enough for intent to distribute," Sam said, peering into the squad car at the suspect seated in the back.

"Its not mine, man," the guy tried, "I took the car, but the drugs must have been in there when I got it."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "You expect me to believe that a dealer would report their car stolen? Their car that contained felonious amounts of drugs in it?"

"I don't know," the man said, leaning back against the seat, "That must have been what happened, they aren't mine."

"I'm sure they're not," Sam said, unconvinced. He looked over to Shaw. "Do you need us here or can we go ahead take him to the barn?"

Shaw climbed out of the car and looked around. "Go ahead and take him in, we've got plenty of bodies here." He clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Nice take down. I see he landed a few," Shaw said, eying the purple bruise beginning to form on Sam's jaw.

"A couple," Sam said, rubbing the tender area. He looked over at his rookie, "Let's go McNally."

"Yes sir," Andy said, sliding into the squad car. The man continued to talk on the way back to the station, insisting that the drugs weren't his. Sam didn't say anything in response, so Andy followed his lead and remained silent.

They got back to the station and Sam handed the suspect, Dave, over to Officer Epstein for booking.

"You got to be involved in a high speed chase?" Epstein asked Andy once Dave was in the holding tank. "Was it awesome? I'm so jealous. How was it?"

"I thought I was going to throw up the whole time," Andy answered honestly. "Swarek did the hard part," she said, nodding towards Sam.

"You did good McNally," Sam called from across the room. He'd been hunched over a clipboard that Epstein had given him to fill out and Andy didn't think that he'd even heard her. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do." He glanced up from the paperwork and made eye contact with her, sending Andy a look that she didn't quite understand.

Andy met his gaze and held it, briefly trying to decipher its meaning. "Thank you, sir," she said after a moment, surprised at his praise.

"Yep." Sam replied nonchalantly, breaking eye contact by glancing down at the paperwork in front of him. He walked over to them and handed Epstein the clipboard. "Here you go. I'm sure he'll have more charges brought against him when Shaw comes in."

"Sir," Epstein asked excitedly, "What's it like? Weaving in and out of traffic, dodging cars, flying through intersections?"

Sam paused, thinking. He glanced over at Andy before answering, "Its kind of like sex, Epstein," He said, grinning as he saw his rookie's eyes widen. "You can't explain it, you just have to experience it for yourself."

Epstein groaned, rolling his eyes. "Like that will ever happen." He paused, "The high speed chase part, not the sex part. I have sex all the time." He paused again, "Well not all the time, obviously. I'm not a nymphomaniac."

Sam chuckled and clapped the rookie on his shoulder, "Thanks for clarifying buddy. It'll happen, don't worry." He turned towards his rookie. "We're here for the rest of the day," he told her. "Lots of paperwork to fill out."

She nodded, following him into the squad room. "Break room first. We need to get you some ice," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

Sam sighed, allowing her to push him down into one of the chairs. "If I tell you I'm okay, you're not going to listen, are you?"

"Nope." She smiled, filling a plastic bag with ice and wrapping it in a towel. "Twenty minutes on, twenty minutes off, otherwise you're going to swell up like a chipmunk."

He grinned, "We can't have that."

"What would the ladies think?" She teased, standing in front of him and holding the ice pack to his face.

"I really only care what one lady thinks," Sam admitted. There. It was out there.

Andy inhaled deeply. "Is that so?" She asked, all traces of teasing gone from her voice.

They had been doing this dance all week. The meaningful glances, the lingering touches, the teasing, the double entendres; it had all been there but neither had forced it, neither had admitted it to themselves or to each other.

Sam nodded, widening his knees and pulling Andy between them, hands gripping her hips. She stood in front of him, holding the ice pack to his jaw with one hand, the other tangling in the soft strands of his hair.

"You know," Andy said, her voice lowered, raspy, "If we were somewhere else right now, I'd say I could kiss it and make it better."

Sam swallowed. "Do you think you would still be willing to do that a little later?"

She nodded slowly, a lazy grin appearing on her lips. "I think it could be arranged."


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Wow. I cannot thank you enough for your feedback and reviews for this story. It has been so much fun to write and I am so appreciative of everyone who has taken the time to review. We're almost at the end (there's one chapter after this)… please let me know what you think! _

**Chapter 9 **

If Andy thought the air between them had been charged before, it was nothing compared to that afternoon. She felt as though her body was literally humming with anticipation of the evening to come and if the looks Sam kept sending her from his desk meant anything, she knew he felt the same way. After reluctantly leaving the solitude of the break room, Andy and Sam settled in at adjoining desks to fill out all of the required documentation for their traffic stop and subsequent high-speed chase.

"This is almost enough to make me never want to pull anyone over again," Sam grumbled, looking over at Andy from his computer.

"I'm just surprised you're actually helping me," Andy confessed, "I thought for sure I'd be doing this all on my own."

"McNally, the faster we get this done, the faster we can get out of here," he replied, giving Andy a pointed look.

She felt her face flush at his words and their implications but just grinned and shook her head. "Eager, are we?"

Sam coughed and glanced around before responding. "Yes," he said, returning her grin. He noticed the blush that colored her cheeks and wished they were somewhere else, anywhere else, so he could see what else he could say to make her blush like that. Or what he could do, Sam thought, though he immediately tried to suppress the ideas that popped into his mind. The station was not the most appropriate place to be entertaining those thoughts about his rookie.

"Sam," Andy said, her voice snapping him back to reality, "Can you come make sure I'm doing this right? I've never filled these out before."

She was looking at something on her computer, so he rounded the desk to stand behind her. "No," he said, placing a hand on the back of her chair and pointing at the screen. "You need to put the charges here."

Andy fought to keep her breathing pattern regular as Sam moved in close behind her. He was leaning over her, his chest barely grazing her shoulder and he just smelled so good. When he took control of her mouse to copy and paste her text into a different box, Andy glanced up and noticed that Detective Barber was looking at the two of them from across the room with an amused smile on his face. Andy made eye contact with him he just raised his eyebrows at her, grinning.

"Why is Jerry looking at us like that?" Andy whispered discretely into Sam's ear.

Sam looked up from her computer and over at his friend. Jerry was staring at both of them and when he caught Sam's eye he grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Sam rolled his eyes and turned back to Andy, "Ignore him, he's an idiot." Although he was very much enjoying being so close to her, he straightened up from his crouched position. "There you go," he said, referring to her question, "I fixed it for you."

"Thanks," she said, watching as he walked back to his desk and noticing how his uniform pants hugged his ass just so. How had she never noticed that before? He caught her staring and cleared his throat, watching in amusement as her eyes flew up to meet his. "See something you like, McNally?" He asked innocently.

"Maybe," she answered, just as innocently.

They worked steadily for the next hour or so until Sam stood up and declared that they were finished. "But sir," Andy protested, "I just have a little bit more to do."

"Nope. We're done," Sam said, not leaving any room for discussion. "We've already stayed past shift and we can finish this tomorrow. Let's go." He came around to her desk and gently tugged on her arm, lifting her out of her chair. "I'll shut your computer down," he said, "You go do whatever it is you do in the locker room and meet me back out here."

Andy stood for a moment, watching as Sam straightened her desk. She glanced around, making sure no one was in earshot. "Sir," she said, stepping closer to him.

"Yeah?" He answered, not bothering to look back at her.

"This whole bossy, take charge thing you've got going on," she said, leaning down to whisper in his ear, her voice low and raspy, "It's really turning me on."

That got Sam's attention. He whipped his head around to look at her, mouth agape in surprise, but she was already backing away with a sly grin on her face. When she saw the look that darkened his eyes she knew she'd gotten him.

His lips curved into a smile, "Well hurry it up then McNally."

Andy wanted to run back to the locker room, but she forced herself to maintain some decorum as she made her was through the station. She could feel Sam's eyes on her but refused to turn around and meet them in fear that she might actually melt into a puddle of desire and want right there in the middle of the hallway.

When she emerged from the locker room she found Sam and the two of them quickly made their way to his truck. He opened the passenger door and helped her inside, throwing her bag in the back, before rounding the front and sliding in himself.

Neither said a word as Sam pulled out of the station. Andy could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she briefly wondered what Sam would do if she reached over, jerked the truck to the side of the road and threw herself at him right there.

As Andy let her mind run wild at all the possible scenarios that could take place between their current location and her apartment, Sam was wrestling with an entirely different decision. He cut his eyes over to Andy and saw her sitting there with a slight smile on her face. He could hear Jerry telling him to just man up and go for it, so he did.

Andy let out an audible gasp as Sam reached over and took her hand in his. It was such an innocent gesture, one that so many people took for granted, but Andy could feel her chest constrict at the weight she knew it carried. At the promises she knew the simple act was meant to convey. She knew what it felt like to have his hands on her body, from the night of the black out to that afternoon when he'd grasped her hips and pulled her towards him.

But all of those touches, those stolen caresses, failed to compare to the intimacy of him holding her hand in his own.

She raised her eyes from their interlaced hands to meet his gaze. She saw something in it that she'd never seen before. Nervousness, maybe? Was Sam Swarek, bad boy of the 15th division, nervous to be holding her hand?

Andy smiled at him, hoping it would reassure him, hoping it would convey that she felt the same way he did. That as much as she was looking forward to what was to come, as much as she wanted it, she was a little bit scared, too. He returned her smile with one of his own and a low chuckle escaped his lips. She winked at him and raised his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles quickly before settling their clasped hands back in her lap.

Sam squeezed her hand gently before returning his gaze to the road in front of him. They rode in silence to her apartment, the air between them heavy with want and need. He pulled into a parking space on the street in front of her apartment and turned the truck off, looking over at her.

"Andy," he said, his voice low, "I need you to know something."

"What's that?" she asked in a voice she didn't recognize as her own.

"Whatever happens when we get up there," he said, motioning with his eyes towards her apartment, "Whatever _this _is…" he trailed off, trying to figure out how to put into words exactly what he wanted to say. He didn't just want this to be a one-night thing, didn't want her to think he was only interested in sleeping with her. He swallowed hard. "I want all of it. I want all of you," he confessed, "and everything that comes along with that."

At first Andy didn't respond to his words and Sam worried that maybe he had somehow read the situation wrong, maybe she didn't feel the same way he did and he had scared her.

"I want that, too," Andy said, her quiet voice bringing a smile to his face. He leaned over to her, hesitating for a moment, searching her eyes for permission. Finding it, he quickly closed the distance between them, drawing her into a gentle kiss.

It took her a moment, as if he had surprised her, but he soon felt her smiling against his lips, responding to him. He wrapped one hand around to the base of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer to him. What began as a gentle, sweet kiss soon turned hungry and desperate. Andy clutched the material of his shirt in her hands, savoring the way his soft lips moved against her own.

She felt Sam pull away and opened her eyes to see his brown ones peering into hers. She wondered if her eyes looked as his did, glassy and dark with need. "There are some things we should talk about first," he said with a softness in his voice, "I'm your training officer, and…"

She placed a finger to his, lips, effectively quieting him. "We can figure all of that out later," she said, pressing a kiss against his forehead. "Right now it's just you and me, just Sam and Andy."

Sam smiled at her, tracing a finger over her full lips and pulling her towards him for another searing kiss before he muttered, "We should go upstairs."

Andy breathed in deeply, nodding her head. "That's a probably a good idea." Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sam had exited the truck and was opening her door, gently tugging her out. She laughed and reminded him to grab her bag out of the back.

He was right behind her as they made their way up the stairs, a hand on the small of her back as though guiding her along. He toyed with her hair as he waited for her to unlock the door, a difficult task to accomplish when her hands were shaking like leaves in the wind. Finally he closed one hand over her own, steadying it. "Let me," he breathed into her ear as he gently took the keys from her and unlocked the door.

He pushed her through the door before kicking it shut with his foot and pinning her against it. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her, welcoming the way his solid body felt against hers. She could feel his chest rise and fall with every breath he took and relished in the knowledge that she was the one who made his heart beat so hard she could feel it against her hand.

"You sure about this, McNally?" he asked, his lips a hair length away from hers.

Instead of answering, she closed the distance between them and kissed him. He responded immediately, eagerly, his hands running down her arms to grasp her hips, pulling her against him. Andy tugged his shirt free and ran her hands up his bare stomach, noting the way his muscles clenched beneath her fingers. He groaned at the contact, breaking away momentarily to allow her to pull his shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor. His lips were fused to hers again in an instant, and when he nudged a knee between her legs and she opened them willingly, wrapping one leg around his waist as he gripped the other, hoisting her up into his arms.

He carried her back to her bedroom, cursing as he stumbled over a shoe in the hallway, making her giggle. He reached an arm out to push her bedroom door open and carried her through, gently depositing her on the bed. Pausing for a moment, he looked down at her, grinning. She smiled back at him and winked, reaching forward to undo his belt, slipping it from his jeans. With a finger crooked through his belt loops, she pulled him down on top of her.

He braced himself above her, careful not to crush her with his weight, and pushed her shirt up slightly, slipping a hand beneath it. "Do you have any idea," he asked, tracing the bottom of her bra with his finger, "how many times I thought about this damn thing today?" He bent his head down to kiss her, "How distracting it was to know exactly what you were wearing under your uniform?"

She only whimpered in response, unable to form coherent words as he pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the ground, immediately dipping to nibble the skin he exposed. "Sam," she gasped before he covered her mouth with his, kissing her, making her delirious with want.

He moved away from her again, kissing, licking and nibbling his way down her body, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. She ran her hands up his back, grasping his shoulders as he rubbed his stubbly cheek against her rib cage and then soothed the sensitive skin with his soft lips.

"Last chance, Andy," he whispered against the warm skin of her stomach, skimming the button her jeans with his thumb, "tell me to stop."

That was the absolute last thing she wanted him to do. Reaching down, she cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "I want this," she said, pulling him up to her, "I want you."

When it was over, Sam fell on top of her, spent. She kissed the racing pulse at the juncture of his neck, clutching the heaving muscles in his back. He rolled off of her and she immediately missed his weight and the warmth of his body. She turned to her side to face him, trailing her fingers up and down his arm.

"That was nice," she said with a lazy grin, goading him. In reality it had been far better than nice, far better than she'd ever had before. He'd been gentle and attentive but passionate, somehow knowing exactly what she needed, expertly taking her to the brink of ecstasy and backing away over and over again until she thought she couldn't take it anymore; then he'd pushed her over, following quickly behind.

"Nice?" He asked, his eyebrows raised, "Just nice?"

"Well, you know," she said with a grin so he'd know she was teasing, "It was what it was."

Sam groaned as she tossed the words at him and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her body and tangling his legs between hers. "It was what is was, huh?"

She nodded, winding her arms around his neck, "And it just happened to be exactly what I've been waiting for."

"Me too, McNally," he said, kissing the tip of her nose, "Me, too."


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: As always, thank you so much for your reviews. I really cannot tell you how much I appreciate that time that you have taken to let me know what you think of this story. I can't believe its finished! This chapter is extra-long… once I got Sam and Andy together there was so much I wanted to happen __. I hope you enjoy… Please let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue. _

Andy giggled when she heard Sam's stomach growling. "Feed me," he mumbled into the crook of her neck.

"We're at your house," she laughed, "Shouldn't you be the one feeding me?"

Sam grumbled something she couldn't understand and pushed himself off of her. She watched as he stood beside the bed, searching for his boxers, and couldn't help but to reach out and playfully swat his behind.

"Hey now," he said, turning to her. "Keep that up and you won't get any dinner."

"You would never deprive me of food," Andy said confidently, stretching her arms above her head. "I need it for energy."

Sam smirked, pulling on his boxers. "What do you want?"

"What've you got?" She asked, reaching for his discarded t-shirt.

He watched as she slipped the shirt over her head and an idea formed in his mind. Before she could react, he had lifted her up over his shoulder, intent on carrying her fireman's style to the kitchen.

"Sam!" She yelped, kicking her legs furiously and beating her fists against his back, "Put me down!"

"Calm down McNally," he said, laughing, grabbing at one of her legs, "You're going to kick me in the face."

Andy sighed dramatically, but settled in for the ride to the kitchen, deciding that there were worse things than having to stare at Sam's ass for a couple of minutes.

They'd been together for a little over a month and Andy didn't think she'd even been as happy or as satisfied as she was right then. They had to hide their relationship from most of their friends and though it was tiring, sometimes downright frustrating, to keep up appearances, they made it work.

Sam deposited her on the counter with little fanfare. Before he could move away, she locked her ankles behind his back and pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. He responded by running his hands up her bare thighs, gripping them and dragging her towards to him.

"Hey," she whispered, her lips close to his.

Sam closed the distance, kissing her quickly before replying, "Hey yourself. I've missed you."

She grinned, "You saw me all day."

He moved his fingers up under her shirt, rubbing small circles on her back before trailing them around to her front. The soft moan that his movements elicited from her lips made him smile. "Not all of you," he said, lightly pinching her to make his point.

"And whose fault is that?" she asked, running her fingers through the dusting of hair on his chest.

"Poker night is a non-negotiable tradition," Sam argued, even though he knew she wasn't really upset. "I couldn't let Jerry beat me. He'd probably make me shave my head."

Andy just 'hmmed' as he kissed down her neck, spending time at the spot behind her ear he knew always drove her crazy.

The previous night was one of the only one's they had spent apart since their first time together. When Sam picked her up from her apartment that morning, still slightly hungover from the night's activities, he had informed her that he didn't like it at all. As soon as their shift was over he had pulled her out to his truck, broken traffic safety laws driving home and had barely given her time to drop her bag inside the door before he'd fused his lips to hers, dragging her to his room.

Not that she minded at all.

"Besides," he defended, pulling back, "You were the one that told me go."

Andy had encouraged him to go, knowing he probably wanted the time with his friends. She promised him it would be fine, that she planned to go to the Penny with the other rookies and then have a girls' night with Traci anyway.

"I know," she pulled him back to her, "I just missed you, that's all. I've gotten used to having you in my bed, Sam Swarek." She traced her fingers down the trail of hair on his stomach, slipping her hand beneath the fabric of his boxers.

He growled into her hair when she touched him. "Andy," he begged hoarsely, pressing his lips against hers. She responded eagerly, kissing him, drawing his bottom lip between her teeth and biting gently. Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body. She arched against him and Sam slide his hands beneath her, planning to carry her back to his bedroom and show her just how much he had missed her, _again_. Then his stomach growled.

Andy broke away and rested her forehead on his. "Food time now." she said, with a light laugh. "Sexy time later."

Sam sighed, bending his head down to kiss her one last time before untangling himself from her. "I think you're going to have to settle for take out, McNally," he said, peering into the refrigerator. "All that's in here is mustard and beer."

She reached to open the drawer beneath her legs, pulling out the take out menus. "Chinese okay?" She asked.

He nodded, flipping open his phone to make the order. "It'll be here in thirty minutes," Sam said, grinning mischievously at her.

Andy hooked a leg around his waist, drawing him close to her. "Whatever shall we do for thirty minutes?"

"Oh I'm sure we can think of something," he assured, lifting her into his arms.

The next morning Sam was still lying in bed when he heard the shower shut off, the sound making him smile. They hadn't been together very long before he had decided that watching Andy get dressed in the morning was both one of the best and one of the worst parts of his day.

It was one of the best because just as she did that morning, Andy would emerge from the bathroom wrapped only in a small towel. Her dark wet hair would hang in curls down her back and her soft skin would glisten with moisture. She would walk over to the drawer that he had cleared out for her and pull out underwear for the day.

That morning, Sam watched as she pulled out a pair of black lacy panties and a matching bra. He gulped. The getting dressed routine was one of the worst parts of his day because Sam would know exactly what his rookie was wearing beneath her police blues and would torture himself throughout the day with the image.

She stepped into the underwear, pulling it up her legs before dropping the towel that was wrapped around her. Another reason it was the best part of his day. She would always give him a quick peek, sometimes even let him touch her, before slapping his hands away and clasping her bra closed.

"Oh holy hell, McNally," he said, watching her from the bed. "You cannot wear that."

She looked down, frowning, "You don't like it?"

"Are you kidding me?" He asked, grasping her wrist and pulling her towards him. "You look incredibly sexy."

She smiled, bending down to kiss him, "Thank you."

"Yeah," he said, kissing her again, "that's why you can't wear it."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Come again?"

"How am I supposed to work knowing you're wearing that? The only thing I'm going to be able to think about is how to get you back into that, and only that, again."

"So let me get this straight," she said, sitting down on the bed next to him, running a hand through his hair to the back of his head. "You want me to wear ugly underwear so you can concentrate at work?"

He nodded. "That'd be great."

She laughed, standing up from the bed. "Well, I'm sorry, Sam. I left all my granny panties at home so you're just going to have to control yourself."

He sighed, flinging the covers from his body. "I'm going to take a shower," he told her.

"Make it a cold one, _sir,_" she teased.

He smirked, swatting her on the backside as he walked to the shower.

They'd settled into a good routine. Some days they would split up and go to the Penny with their own groups of friends, meeting up afterwards when one signaled to the other across the bar. Other days they would leave work together and head back to one of their places to be alone, to eat dinner and watch movies and just be together.

While they were at work Sam had instituted a strict no-affectionate-physical-contact policy, though he sometimes broke it by reaching across the cruiser to hold her hand.

She'd asked him about it one night when they were curled up on the sofa together, a blanket pulled over their legs and a movie long forgotten in the background. She'd asked him why he wouldn't sneak into the interrogation-viewing room with her or find a dark corner in an alley somewhere. She wasn't upset about it, he'd more than proven his attraction and desire for her, she just wanted to know.

His arms had tightened around her as he confessed that it was partly for discretion, they couldn't be open about their relationship yet and he didn't want either of them to lose their jobs, but also because it was hard for him sometimes. That when he knew they were in danger it was difficult to go against his natural instincts to protect her and get her out of harm's way. That the only way he could make it through the day was to separate Andy, his girlfriend from Andy, his rookie.

She'd furrowed her brow, "Do you not trust me?"

"I trust you with my life, Andy," he'd said, sincerely. "You are a great police officer. It has nothing to do with that. It's just that sometimes I have a hard time letting you do your job because I'm scared of what could happen to you. And that's not fair to you."

She nodded in understanding, then asked if it would make it easier if she requested a different training officer. He'd rolled her beneath him and convinced her that that was a terrible idea, that as difficult as it was when she was with him, he would go out of his mind with worry if she was with someone else. That even though he couldn't touch her he couldn't imagine not spending the day with her.

The day he told her he loved her had started out like any other. He'd brought her coffee in bed and she'd teased him with another pair of underwear. "I seem to remember that you like leopard print," she said, recalling the memory of the first time he'd walked in on her in the locker room. He'd growled at her and tugged her down to the bed, laughing, telling her just how much he did like it.

They'd arrived at the station together, barely on time, separating to get ready before meeting again in the parade room. While on patrol they'd gotten a call over the radio about a domestic violence disturbance. Andy watched as Sam's jaw clenched when the dispatcher told them that the 911-caller was an eight-year-old hiding in the closet with his little brother and sister. The boy said that he could hear his dad yelling at his mom and he thought he might be hurting her.

They flipped the lights on and sped to the residence. When they got there they could hear yelling and crying inside, but when no one answered the door, Sam kicked it in, telling her to enter with her gun drawn.

They found the man and woman in the kitchen and it was obvious the man had been hitting her. Sam's eyes flashed with anger as he ordered the man to the ground and cuffed him while Andy tried to comfort the hysterical woman. Sam jerked the man off the floor and marched him outside before rejoining Andy inside the house. "Shaw is here," he told her, "He's going to take the husband in."

The ambulance had arrived and the EMTs were with the woman, assessing her injuries. "We need to find those kids," Sam told Andy quietly, pulling her away. They checked the hall closets before moving to the bedrooms. They found the kids huddled together, sniffling and crying, in the closet in the little girl's room.

It was pink and pretty. A princess room. A fairytale, Andy noted ironically. So different than the nightmare the children were living through.

Sam knelt down, showing the children his badge and telling them he was there to help them, that they were safe. Andy watched as he coaxed the kids out of the closet, the youngest one reaching up to wrap his scrawny arms around Sam's neck. Sam lifted him and his sister into his arms, and Andy reached her hand out to the oldest boy. He accepted in hesitantly, wiping his other hand across his runny nose.

"Okay guys," Sam asked the kids, walking them through the house, "Do you want to go on a ride in my car?"

The oldest boys eyes lit up, "Can we turn on the siren?"

Sam laughed, "Sure buddy, we can turn the siren _and _the lights on."

He got them settled into the back seat and told them he'd be back in just a minute. Andy watched as Sam backed away out of eyesight, rounding the corner of the house. She opened the trunk to pull out a coloring book and crayons for the kids, and on instinct pulled a bottle of water out for Sam.

"Here you go," she said, handing the coloring books to the kids. "I got you a pretty princess one," she told the little girl, "and this is one with dinosaurs," she said, handing the book to the youngest boy. The oldest boy took the crayons, assuring her that he could help them color within the lines. Andy winked at him then told him she knew he could handle it.

She walked over to the side of the house where Sam had gone. She found him, bent over, bracing himself with a hand on the side of the house, throwing up.

"Oh, Sam," she said, moving quickly to his side. She didn't know what to do to make it better, so she settled for rubbing her hand up and down his back.

"I'm okay," he said, still bent over. He took a couple of deep breaths before standing up and leaning against the house, not making eye contact with her. She handed the water bottle to him and he took it, thanking her. Opening it, he swished some water around in his mouth before spitting it out on the ground.

When he finally did look over at her, the look in his eyes made her stomach clench. He reached out and grasped her wrist, pulling her forward and hugging her tightly.

How long they stayed like that she wasn't sure. "Do you want to talk about it?" She murmured into his chest.

She could feel him shake his head. "Not now."

"Okay," she said quietly.

He pulled away and looked down at her, "I'll tell you later, I promise. I just can't right now."

She nodded, walking him back around to the car. They climbed in and Andy watched as he plastered a smile on his face, turning around and asking the kids if they were ready to go. "Lean forward, buddy," he told the oldest, "Andy will show you were to push the button for the lights."

He'd been rougher with her than usual that night; gripped her arms a little harder, held her hips little tighter, pulled her towards him with a little more force. She didn't mind. He hadn't hurt her, not really. She was thankful he trusted her, trusted them, enough to let himself go. To lose himself in her.

Afterwards he held her against him, breathing heavily, his long fingers tracing up and down her backbone. She shivered, not knowing if it was from the cold or the sensations he had created in her body, and he pulled the covers tightly around them.

"You know how I've told you about my mom?" Sam asked quietly, hoarsely. She nodded, moving closer and tangling her legs between his.

"She was the bravest, most loving person I've ever known," Sam confided into the darkness that surrounded them. "You remind me of her."

"Thank you," Andy whispered, genuinely moved by the compliment. Sam rarely spoke of his family but she knew that his mom had passed away not long before he went undercover. He told her that he'd put off going under before because his mom had been sick and he didn't want anything to happen when he couldn't be there for her. Anytime he talked about his mom the love and respect that he had for her was obvious.

"My mom left my dad when I was seven. She moved me and my little sister four hours away from him to my grandmother's house and worked three part-time jobs to support us." Sam paused, hesitant. "I knew he had been hitting her, " he confessed, "I would hear them at night sometimes and I would see bruises on her."

Andy was quiet, sensing he needed to talk, to tell her about this part of him she didn't know.

"One day she wasn't there to pick me up from school like she normally did, so I decided to walk home by myself. When I got there I saw my dad's car in the driveway, which was weird. He usually came home just before dinner." Sam swallowed, "So I went inside and I found them in the kitchen. " His voiced hitched and even in the dark Andy could see his clear eyes beginning to cloud. "She was crying, pleading with him to stop. He was holding her hair," Sam continued, "And I remember seeing him use it to sling her into the wall."

"Oh, Sam," Andy whispered, not knowing what else to say, not knowing how to take away the pain of the memory.

"So I jumped on his back," Sam said, "and I punched him as hard as I could with my little seven year old fists, over and over again, yelling at him to stop hurting my mom."

Andy felt tears prickling in her eyes, her heart aching for Sam, for the little boy that had to go through that. For the man that lived with the memories. "You were so brave," she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion.

"I woke up in the hospital a few hours later, not knowing what had happened. I was told that my dad flung me off of him and I ended up hitting my head against the counter so hard I blacked out. My mom told me later that seeing him do that, seeing him hurt me, was the tipping point. She could handle him hurting her, but not hurting her children. So she called the police and while he was waiting for someone to bail him out, she packed up our house and we moved." Sam exhaled, as though sharing the story with Andy relieved him of a weight that he carried. "That was the last time I saw my dad."

They were both quiet, content to lie in the bed together and hold each other for the moment. Andy pressed a soft kiss against Sam's forehead. "Thank you for telling me."

Sam nodded, "When I see things like what we saw today, I can't help but think about my dad. About those kids who live in fear of someone who was supposed to love them."

"It's not fair," Andy whispered, agreeing with him.

"I was lucky," Sam said, "my mom was strong enough to pull us out."

"She sounds like she was an incredible woman," Andy whispered, absently stroking his back.

"She was." Sam cleared his throat. "Sometimes I wonder about my dad, think about why he didn't love his family."

"I know what that's like," Andy said softly.

"Your mom?" He asked.

She nodded, not feeling the need to say anymore. He knew her story, knew how her mom had walked out on her.

Sam rolled them over so he was on top of her, supporting himself on either side of her body. He kissed her and she reached up, knotting her fingers into his hair. "Andy," he said, his voice low and smooth, "When we have babies, they're going to know that I love them."

"Babies?" She asked, smiling shyly up at him. She knew she wanted a future with Sam, a family with him, but he'd never said anything about it, never mentioned a desire to have children. They'd touched on their future before, but only when they were cuddled together in post-coital bliss and letting their imaginations run, laughing and confessing dreams they wouldn't have under any other circumstances.

After seeing him with the kids earlier that day, she knew he would be a wonderful father.

"Yes, babies," he said, returning her smile. "They're going to know that I'd do anything for them, I'd do anything to protect them." His eyes were fierce with promise.

"But mostly, Andy," he said, bending his head down to kiss her again, moving his body against hers and making her moan, "They're going to know how much I love their mom." He kissed his way down her neck, "They're going to know that I respect her," and across her collarbone, "and that I treasure her."

When he felt a tug at his hair, he looked back up to her. He could see the unshed tears that had pooled in her eyes. She blinked and one fell, tracing its way down the soft skin of her cheek. He moved up to catch it, pressing his lips against her, tasting its saltiness against them.

"Sam," she said, her voice shaky. "Are you sure?"

He smiled down at her. "I told you before we even started Andy, I want all of it."

"Do you mean it?" She asked, knowing he would understand what she was referring to.

He nodded, "I love you, McNally. I think I've loved you since that day in the alley when you tackled me," he grinned at her, "and tried to kiss me."

She laughed and the tears that were in hers eyes fell, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Instead, she wound her arms around him, pulling him down to her. "I love you too, Sam."

_The End! Thank you so much for reading! _


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